What was Once Lost is Found Anew
by darkoraclegirl
Summary: Long before Odin's line took the throne of Asgard the realm of Taerelyn withdrew from the other realms and cut ties with everyone. Now they are back and seeking an alliance with Asgard. Though the princess seems to want more then friendship. What does this mean for Asgard and future events? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**~Song Start: Guy Michelmore - Hulk vs. Thor Main Title~**

Taerelyn, the lost realm, had come out of hiding and made contact with Asgard after many ages of silence. It had been a great shock when Taerelyn suddenly made contact with Odin. Ruled by the Nenkonee, a race of feline like humanoids, Taerelyn, from what Heimdall had been able to see of the realm, appeared to be a lush world with buildings that appeared to a mix of Midgardian medieval style and advanced technology, a world in which technology and nature seem to stand in perfect balance as do the two social classes.

The two social classes among the Nenkonee are the Miqo'te and the Vorsanin.

Miqo'tes live more in tune with nature then their Vorsanin brethren, spending their days out among the lush greenery hunting prey and gathering nature's bounty. Built lean and agile, able to see well in low light and hear far better than the Vorsanin, they are natural born hunters, and with their senses more attuned to nature they are also the best caretakers for crops, rarely ever failing to produce enough fruits and vegetables to keep their people fed and healthy.

The Vorsanin, however, are skilled crafters and leaders. The crafters are able to take all the Miqo'te bring in and produce some of the finest works one could ever hope to find throughout the realms, even Odin himself had to admit to being impressed with the craftsmanship of the gifts the Nenkonee messenger had brought to him. Fine silks, high quality gems, armor able to withstand even the strongest of blows, and more can be found on Taerelyn within the shops of the Vorsanin crafters. The Vorsanin leaders, however, are clever and able to guide the Nenkonee with ease in both daily life, as well as on the battle field. Quick on their feet strategy comes easy to them and thus they are the natural choice for leaders.

One thing, however, that Odin did not like however, was that the Nenkonee appear to marry based on an alpha/beta role system. Some are born alphas, and some are born betas. The alphas choose to engage with the beta and though the betas can reject alphas, the alphas still maintain the top positions in their hierarchy. And with the rulers of Taerelyn being a king and queen with one alpha and one beta child there was little chance of Odin arranging for Thor to marry into that line. He could 'just' imagine how Thor would end up offending the alpha princess and thus starting a war with the Nenkonee, a war he did not want nor need at this point in time.

Still, the Nenkonee had reached out to him, or rather their royal family did. This could mean good things for Asgard, if handled right. He would extend an invitations to the royal family to visit Asgard, arrange for talks to bring about peace and trade between the two realms, and perhaps set up a possible future marriage between his grandchild and theirs.

So Odin sent the invitation to the royal family, along with a selection of gifts from Asgard, and waited to hear back from them. It didn't take long before he got the confirmation that the royal family would be coming to Asgard in a week's time to meet and negotiate terms. Odin was looking forward to this meeting and set to work readying Asgard for the visit.

**~w~**

**~Seven days later~**

The day had arrived. After fretting over every little detail for the last seven days the Nenkonee royal family had finally arrived.

The Nenkonee king, a Vorsanin man, had jaw length dark hair that, despite his current age, appeared to only contains a few strands of grey here and there, a short, neatly trimmed dark beard sat on the man's face with a few streaks of grey to it, his cool blue eyes appeared to be locked onto Odin, but there were moments when they would flicker elsewhere if one was quick enough to catch the movement. The dark furred cat like ears on the top of his head had the royal family crest displayed in the right one in the form of a clip. His clothes were simple, yet held regal notes to them that clearly marked him as important. As near as Odin could tell, the man had to stand at six feet four inches in height.

The Nenkonee queen, a Miqo'te woman, had slightly wild shoulder length brunette hair that reminded Odin of a lion's mane with the way it curled around her head and soft forest green eyes. Though rumored to be the same age as her husband, the queen appeared more youthful in appearance, a trait Odin chalked up to her more active life style as she, apparently, was going out hunting and gathering with the rest of her people. The queen was wearing a simple gown with a slightly short skirt that had slits to make movement easier. Much like her husband, the queen also had a royal crest clip in her one ear, but hers was in the left one. She also had a pair of fang earrings dangling from her ears. The queen seemed to also be shorter than the king, at possibly five foot six inches.

Their first born child, a young prince, had his mother's brown hair but had clearly brushed it before tying it back in a short braid and had his father's blue eyes. The prince's skin was slightly tanned, a sign that the young man spends a fair bit of time outside. Dressed in a plain blue tunic and dark leather pants, the prince appeared to be fussing slightly with a sewing needle and some cloth in his hands, yet he did not falter in his steps as he followed his family into the throne room, clearly this wasn't the first time the boy had done something like this. Standing at five foot ten inches in height he'd clearly gained some of his father's height.

And finally, there was the princess. The second born daughter with her father's dark hair, though she'd added red to it here and there, and her mother's green eyes. The princess was paler then her brother, but Odin had heard that she spent more time outside with a group of Miqo'te friends, whereas the prince spends his time sitting outside crafting. The princess was wearing a corset style top with a pair of dark pants covering her legs. Unlike her brother and father she was looking around the room, as if trying to see everything there was to see and her face showed excitement at being in a new place, an almost childlike excitement that brought back to Odin fond memories of when his sons were little and wanted to show him everything and anything they found that appeared amazing to them. The princess was just a little taller than her mother at five foot eight inches.

Standing beside Adrette, was a tall man, he had to have been about eight feet tall minimum, nine at most. He had white hair with red highlights in a short ponytail with bangs hanging down in front of the right side of his face. His skin was dark grey with scale like patterns around the jaw, neck, and arms, and possibly in other places that Odin currently couldn't see, and he had two horns, pointing down towards his chin. His eyes were a fearsome shade of red with pink irises. His eyes were also slanted, giving him an angry look all the time, though granted, he was indeed angry at the moment.

Beside him stood a woman who entered not long after him, clearly the same race as the tall man, but shorter by at least three feet. She had the same eye colour and hair colour, even the same hair style, but having black freckles on her face that gave her a 'cute' look.

The appearance of these two alongside the Nenkonee royal family left Odin both confused and reeling. These two look like their parents had bred with dragons, and there they stood with the royal family, clearly loyal to them in some way. If the Nenkonee royal family had dragon people warriors amongst the Nenkonee, clearly Asgard would have to tread carefully until they know the full extent of these dragon people's power and strength. Pushing aside the questions and concerns regarding the dragon twins, Odin turned his attention to the royal family before him.

"Welcome to Asgard," Odin greeted the family once they were close enough.

The king smiled, revealing short fangs. "Thank you for the kind invitation to your kingdom. My family and I did so enjoy the trip over here. You city is very lovely."

"Our children were most excited for the chance to see a new realm." The queen added.

Odin gave the queen a pleasant smile before turning to Frigga. "Allow me to introduce my wife, Frigga. My love, this is King Esegar, his wife queen Vren, their eldest son, prince Mar, and their daughter, princess Adrette," Odin introduced.

Esegar smiled and gave a light bow to Frigga, Vren smiled and shook Frigga's hand, Mar lifted his eyes from his cloth and gave Frigga a polite bow before returning to his work, Adrette gave a cheery wave and smile to Frigga before her eyes seemed to lock onto something over Frigga's right shoulder.

Frigga turned her head to see what Adrette was looking at and smiled when she realized the young princess had her eyes locked onto Thor and Loki. Taking a moment to wave her two sons over Frigga turned back to the visiting family. "These are our sons. Thor is the eldest, and the bigger one, and Loki the youngest, and the slender one," She introduced as she noticed it wasn't both sons Adrette was looking at at that point, but Loki. Thor and Loki gave their greetings to the visiting family, and Frigga couldn't help but notice the look of interest Mar sent Thor from behind the cloth he was still working on. Clearly the two visiting royal children had taken an interest in both of her sons, this would prove amusing to watch.

"Fine boys you both have," Vren commented. "Perhaps one day they might come visit us in Taerelyn."

"I think that would be a wonderful idea for the future," Frigga agreed. She had a feeling that Thor would enjoy hunting with the Miqo'tes and believe that Loki would enjoy spending time around the Vorsanin crafters or strategists.

"Come now, you must all be hungry after your journey here. I have had a light lunch made ready for us!" Odin announced before leading the group to the door that would lead to the dining hall.

Frigga held back a little and was able to overhear Mar and Adrette whispering without making it obvious.

"Don't think I didn't see you staring big brother," Adrette chuckled. "You always did have a thing for golden hair." She teased.

"At least I wasn't openly staring like you, dear little sister. I take it then that you are going to pursue Prince Loki?" Mar questioned.

"Why not? After all I'm certain that Odin would want a political marriage between our families. So why not have me marry his youngest son?" Adrette shrugged.

"True, it does seem more logical given that, as you are a female, you at least can birth children for both kingdoms. I however have yet to show if I could carry a child. Perhaps that is why I have yet to gain a spouse."

"Right Mar, and it's got nothing to do with you being picky," Adrette chuckled.

"I want a good spouse, that is not much to ask for," Mar dismissed with a shrug of his shoulders.

"So, we're both going to try to win over one of the Odinsons. I look forward to seeing you woo Thor," Adrette grinned.

Mar sighed, "I doubt he is use to males wooing him, but I shall not give in easily. My skills as a crafter will serve me well. My works are among the best our people have to offer. I shall shower him with handmade gifts and show that I am a prized beta that wants him to be my alpha."

"As you say Mar, you are a great crafter, there is no doubt about that. Whoever the alpha is that gains your heart they will never want for anything."

Frigga stopped listening then, a smile on her face at hearing that both Nenkonee heirs had an interest in her sons. Though certainly Thor would not know what to do with Mar's advances, it would be amusing to see Thor being pursued rather than doing the pursuing.

**~w~**

**~After lunch~**

Loki had met a few princesses in his time, but none were anything like Adrette, who seemed more at home out in the forest hunting and gathering with the Miqo'te, rather than doing any of the normal things princesses tend to do. Adventurous, strong, and unafraid, part of that Loki felt had to do with her being an alpha, though he had yet to truly learn much about alphas and betas but was looking to expand his knowledge. He had thought to ask Adrette to tell him more about her people, but her response surprised him.

"So you wanna learn about my kind do you? Well you're gonna have to figure out how to ask me right for it," She teased.

Loki almost rolled his eyes at that. That sounded just like the typical princess thing to say. "If you are expecting me to flatter you then I am going to have to disappoint you," He said dismissively. "Perhaps I'll go ask your brother instead," Anything else Loki was going to say was cut off as Adrette grabbed him by the throat and slammed against the wall.

"Do I look like some silly little beta bitch to you? Like some dumb little thing that needs someone to flatter her and give her a sense of purpose?" She asked him. "I'm an alpha, a top tier bitch who doesn't give a shit if someone thinks she's pretty, smart, strong, or whatever. You want something from me, you're gonna have to learn how to correctly ask an alpha for something!" She then smiled, "Well, how to ask one that you aren't married to…" She then leaned in a little. "But if you were to marry me, I would treat you so good, of that you can be certain of," She then let go of this throat and walked away.

Loki stared after her, unsure about what make of that.

"Do not take Adrette's actions the wrong way," Vren commented as she walked up to him. "She knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to go for it, the behavior of a typical female alpha in her prime."

"Knows what she wants?" Loki questioned before thinking on her last words to him. "You mean to tell me she wishes to marry me?"

Vren chuckled at that. "I have not seen her take an interest in another as she has you. Normally, she would be running off to town and whatever fields and woods she can find, and yet here she stays, in the palace. That is very out of character for her, only a possible mate could make her be willing to stand being trapped inside like this."

"Wouldn't Thor be the better choice for her?"

Vren shook her head. "Thor is clearly more like an unyielding alpha, the sort of man that will fight her at every turn and thus lead to a life that is more pain for all then joy. You, however, though still an alpha, are more agreeable. The sort to know when to fight against one's spouse and when to bend the knee, the kind she can learn to live happily with as she learns to also bend the knee when needed. She would not have chosen to go after you otherwise."

"Is it common place for women to be so bold in Taerelyn?" Loki questioned curiously.

Vren smiled, "It is the alpha way my dear. But worry not, for our kind do not force ourselves on anyone. You may reject her if you do not wish to be with her and no ill shall befall you. Even the betas back home have the right to refuse an alpha, and any alpha whom refuses the beta's right is severely punished for their crime," She assured him. "Even a member of the royal family is not allowed to force someone into marriage."

Loki thought on this information. Princess Adrette was attempting to show her interest in him, an interest that was not a cover for an actual interest in Thor it seems. Not only that, but he had the right to refuse her and not fear any trouble from her family or people for it. Should he entertain her interest? Perhaps even express some interest back? This could be a good way for him to learn more about the Nenkonee people. He would have to think carefully on this matter before doing anything, as the last thing he needed was to gain an annoying pest when he already had Thor and his friends to deal with.

**~w~**

**~Meanwhile with Odin and the others~**

Odin was very curious about the two seemingly Dragon hybrids. As such, he asked King Esegar about them.

Esegar smiled, "Ah the twins! Adrette's dearest friends from Sevyke. They are Xaindruss and Ælfgifu Azoranth, members of the Au Ra race. We made contact with their people long before my line ascended to the throne and their people like to come to our home to join in annual hunts for the great beasts that roam the lands. The hunts are natural for keeping the numbers of those beasts down, and the Au Ra do so enjoy a good fight. The twins have been friends with my daughter for many years now, and insisted on coming with us to ensure nothing happened. Personally, I think they just don't want Adrette having fun here without them," Esegar finished with a chuckle.

Vren, who was rejoining them after getting some air, overheard their discussion and smiled, "Don't forget that Xaindruss has had a crush on Adrette since they were children, dear," she smiled.

"Oh? He still has that crush after all this time? I had not realized," Esegar had thought that Xaindruss had out grown that crush as many childhood friends often do.

Vren smirked, "I believe our daughter is aware, but holds no feelings for him other than as a friend," Vren said sadly, she was fond of Xaindruss after all, he was always so attentive to Adrette.

Esegar sighed, "Many childhood crushes go unreturned, and each one that does, is always painful to watch. However much we all wish that such pain does not happen, we can do naught to prevent it, for the only way to prevent it would be to force those crushes to be returned, and that would go against our nature and free will. We can only hope that Xaindruss will find another love who shall return his feelings." He commented. "The young man is a fine warrior and a true friend to all. I am certain he will find someone to take Adrette's place in his heart one day."

Vren smiled, "I am sure he will meet his future mate eventually," she smiled.

Frigga decided to speak up on what she had overheard earlier. "I happened to overhear Adrette speaking about Loki. It seems she finds herself taken to him and intends to pursue him."

Odin's eyes widen a little at that. He had not expected the young princess to take a liking to Loki, then again he hadn't really thought of Loki as being a possible choice for a political marriage. While it wasn't quite what he had been hoping for, this could still turn out best for Asgard.

"Oh really? My young daughter and your young son?" Esegar said thoughtfully. "Yes. From what I've heard tell of the young man he would fit in amongst our people and be a welcomed addition to our family should this courtship take strong roots."

Vren rolled her eyes with a fond smile. "It would seem my husband approves of this courtship, and I look forward to seeing what will come from it."

**~w~**

**~With Xaindruss and his sister~**

Xaindruss sighed as he saw Adrette walk away from Prince Loki.

"Still pining after the one who got away brother?" Ælfgifu asked with a smug look.

"Just because we are long lived like these Asgardians, due to our draconic heritage, doesn't mean that we can't find love, its just harder, dear sister," Xaindruss said with a droll tone.

"At least I never chose someone who doesn't love me back," Ælfgifu countered.

"Hmp," Xaindress chuckled, "As I recall, that one beta Miqo'te you showed interest in was so 'terrified' he had to go into hiding!" Xaindruss said smugly.

Ælfgifu blushed before shooting her brother a glare, "Just because I was too forward when I was younger doesn't mean I am undatable dear brother!" she snapped before walking away, her brothers laughter in her ears, though once she was out of earshot, the laughter stopped as Xaindruss saw Thor, who'd been standing some ways away from the siblings seemingly waiting for something, start following his sister out. "Foolish prince, thinking my sister will be interested in him any time soon."

**~w~**

**~That evening~**

When Odin had summoned Loki to him, Loki hadn't known what to expect, but what he was told made him both shocked and angry.

"You want me to marry princess Adrette? Without any care for my thoughts nor feelings on the marriage?" Loki questioned.

"She has clearly taken a liking to you and a marriage between our family and hers could only serve to strengthen Asgard," Odin told him. "Her father is in favor of this union and I believe it is for the best of everyone."

"And you thought not to consult me on this matter? To see if I wanted to get married?" A part of Loki was questioning why he felt surprised by this choice. It wasn't like he hadn't been thrown into things he didn't want to do in the past. But this time, he might have to leave Asgard, his home, as a result of what he was being told to do.

"We all must make sacrifices Loki, for Asgard," Odin reminded him.

Loki bit back the remark about how the only one that seems to be sacrificing is him.

Frigga, who had been silent up to that point walked over and held Loki's face in her hands. "This isn't just a matter of politics. We are both worried for your future as you have shown little interest in finding a wife. You cannot continue to live your life alone."

He wanted to tell her that he was actually a widower. Having had a wife on Midgard as well as a child, but he feared what Odin would say on the matter. Odin had damn near forbidden travel to Midgard after the last war, and Loki did not want to risk punishment for going against him again. Thinking about his late wife, Loki realized that she would not want him to be lonely for the rest of his life. The woman had been challenging at times, and had a fiery temper about her when she wanted, but, she had wanted the best for him, which was why she had agreed to wait for him to get everything ready in Asgard before he would reveal her and their daughter. Where she there now, she would most likely push Loki to at least try to get to know Adrette, and see if perhaps a marriage could work between them.

"I suppose I could try courtship with her. However I make no promises!" Loki compromised. Though he said that, Loki knew that Odin would push for marriage after so long, but perhaps when that time came, he might not mind so much. Only time would reveal if he and Adrette were suited for one and other.

**~w~**

Loki found Adrette staring out a window in one of the palace halls. At first he thought she was longing to leave the palace but when he looked where she was he saw she was watching her brother, Mar giving Thor a tailored vest of some kind.

Adrettte, having noticed Loki approached gave a small chuckle. "My brother is a beta, and he has his eyes set on Thor," She explained to him.

Loki stared at her for a moment before giving a small laugh. "This is part of his attempts to court Thor?"

"Only the beginning. Mar is one of our greatest crafters you see, and he plans to shower Thor in hand made gifts in the hopes that he will marry him," She confirmed. "Though Thor clearly has yet to see that that is what is happening."

"He might not ever realize it. My brother can be...quite... _dense_ ...when it comes to such things when they are not spelt out to him," Loki laughed.

"That will not discourage Mar, I'm afraid. Until Thor makes it clear he's not interested, my brother will continue to pursue him." Adrette smirked amusedly.

"I kind of hope Thor never learns what Mar is doing, so that I can keep laughing at him, though it is a shame that Mar has to put up with him." Loki truly did feel bad for Mar, but this was going to provide him with no shortage of amusement for some time.

"And what of you?" Adrette asked as she turned from the window to him. "Have you figured out how to ask an alpha female?"

Loki gave her a small smile. "No I have not. However, I believe I have some knowledge as to how to go about courting one..." he replied mysteriously.

Adrette's smile grew at that. "Oh? Is that so?"

"Well, that's if the alpha female is truly interested in a courtship with me. So tell me, are you?" Loki couldn't deny a certain level of excitement that was running through him, though nothing could replace his last wife, Adrette was something new and unknown to him.

"If you have to ask, I must truly not be making myself clear," Adrette commented. "Yes Loki, we can begin a courtship. Just keep in mind, that _you_ are the one who has the power to end this at any time while we are courting, and should we marry, we will remain so until one of us dies."

"Understood," Loki replied. It was kind of nice knowing that he could end this with any trouble, though he was still a bit annoyed that this wasn't completely his choice in the matter. He would just have to make the best of this and see what comes of it.

"Adrette, a moment of you time my dear?" Esegar called as he stepped out into the hall, then he spotted Loki. "Unless you two are busy...?" he added in a questioning tone.

Adrette gave Loki a grin. "No dad, I think Loki has made his intensions to me clear. However, I won't be like any other princess he's seen before, but I won't make this too hard on him. After all," Adrette leaned in a little and lowered her voice, "I like him too much to want this to fail." She then walked past him and followed her father down the hall way.

Loki shook his head as he stared after her. "Well, at least you won't be boring."

"I take it things are going well with your pursuit of Loki?" Esegar whispered to Adrette as they walked away.

"We've just moved into courtship officially when you approached and he seems to truly be interested. However only time will tell if he truly wants to be my mate," Adrette reported, "One step at a time father."

"I know my dear. However I do hope to see you and your brother settled down with mates before your mother and I leave this life. But let's not speak of that now. I have some things to go over with you before the feast tonight."

~w~

**~With Xaindruss and his sister in the Training Yard~**

Ælfgifu was shooting arrows so fast that they were looking like they were teleporting to the target. The sheer anger she was radiating had caused many of the Asgardians to eye her warily, along with fear of her skills with a bow. Especially since she kept aiming for the crotch region of the target.

Xaindruss, who had just come from the kitchens after getting a light snack of mutton on a stick, looked at his sister with amusement. "Still angry that Thor tried to hit on you dear sister?" he asked.

Ælfgifu growled and stopped mid shot, "Fuck off, Brother," she said angrily, "Thor will have his day to meet me in training spar or an archery contest, regardless, I _will _ claim his tongue as my prize, that, or his honor..." she finished threateningly. She had really not liked the comparison Thor had made while trying to flirt with her by saying he would mount her like some conquered beast.

Xaindruss chuckled, his sister had a collection of things from the various sentients they had met who had tried to force themselves on her in one way or another, and he knew it was only a matter of time till Thor tried the same, after all, Thor was the 'type' in Xaindruss's mind to force himself on those he fancied. "Anyway, the feast will be starting soon, I have reserved seats beside Adrette and her family for us, in case you're interested that is..." he then took his mutton, finishing it off before throwing the stick with all his strength, nailing the target in the head, "Just remember, I am the 'tank' of our family dear sister, I have the size and endurance to take the hits," he reminded her as she shot him a glare before firing more arrows at the target, while he walked into the great hall for the feast.

**~w~**

**~Four hours later at the feast~**

As Xaindruss sat down next to Adrette, he shot a smirk towards Loki. He would not give up without a fight of some sort. As he turned to Adrette, he whispered, "Thor tried hitting on my sister earlier, hence her absence from this party," he finished, making Adrette aware that her best female friend was absent.

Adrette gave a small hum in thought at that. "I'll be sure to pass this news on to Mar. He's been working on something else he plans to give Thor as part of his courtship attempt, and I'm sure this news will spur my brother into not letting Thor have a moment alone for some time. That should make your sister happier I think," She whispered back in amusement.

Xaindruss let out a small laugh at the news that Mar had finally found someone who peaked his interest, "Figures he would be Mar's type..." he muttered, "Sorry to say, but, if Ælfgifu has her way, Thor will be losing that which makes him a 'man'," he chuckled.

"That's fine, cause I don't think Thor has any idea what my brother's interest in him really is, and when he does learn, I fear my brother is in for a hard let down. I just hope my brother doesn't bury himself in his projects when that happens, like he normally does," Adrette sighed. "My brother sure knows how to pick the sort that won't return the feelings, doesn't he?"

Xaindruss snorted in amusement, "Understatement of the century my dear friend," he chuckled, "Anyway, Loki looks a might peeved that I took the seat next to you," he smiled.

"Yeah, I noticed the tension in his shoulders once he saw you approaching me. I guess he's a bit of the jealous type after all," Adrette mused with a smile. "Might leave him to his thoughts on this for a bit, see what he does and how long it might take him to act," She then leaned into her friend. "It's also a fair bit of fun toying with him like this a little," She chuckled.

Xaindruss smiled a tad bit sadly before covering it up with his usual smile, "Well, far be it from me to ruin your plan then my dear," he said as he began to dig into the food, making a good impression of that Volstagg fellow, even if he wasn't as large, width wise, as Volstagg.

"Oh come now, when have I ever had the chance to tease a possible mate before? Also, Loki doesn't yet fully know about my kind and thus he doesn't know that we pursue only one possible mate until we are mated. So I will tease him a little until he acts, then after he does so, I will explain it to him," Adrette explained. "I just want to have a little fun with the guy to see how he handles something like this. He is more of an alpha but one that is willing to bend the knee when the situation calls for it."

'So could I...' Xaindruss thought to himself sadly, maybe he would find someone who would interest him in the future then, at least he could still be Adrette's friend, and what a friend she had been over the years. Shaking his head of the thought, he looked up at Thor, who had just entered; looking to all the world like someone had used him as a training post. "Well," Xaindruss said, "She might not have left a permanent injury, but it seems stupidity really does run through Thor..." he finished before taking a sip of some Asgardian Mead.

Adette gave a snort. "He's so going to try again with her before long. Gonna claim she's 'playing hard to get' or something...My brother likes em blonde and clearly stupid," She joked.

Xaindruss nodded, then, as everyone else took notice of Thor's...'condition'...Odin was the first to react.

Odin was shocked, it took a lot for Thor to bleed like this, let alone show it at a feast like this. "Who did this to my eldest, to my first born!?" he demanded angrily.

Thor, however, smiled happily at his father, "Why, the dragon woman who came with the royal family from Taerelyn," Thor said with a smile, "And, what's more, she is the woman I wish to marry father!" he finished proudly with a stupid grin on his face, all the while Xaindruss tried to hold in his laughter.

Adrette nearly fell off her chair as she started laughing at him. "You want to marry Ælfgifu? And you actually think she's gonna want to marry you?" Adrette had to take a second to get herself under control before she could say anything else. "Xaidruss here was just telling me how much his sister hates you, and how she's promised to unman you if you keep making attempts on her honor. Take a hint, she's not interested and she will sooner get in bed with a bilgesnipe then she would ever get in your bed with you!" Adrette was a little proud she managed to get that out before breaking down into laughter once more.

"Thor," Loki spoke up, "Your current state is a testament to how correct Adrette appears to be. I dare say, the only reason you are still standing, is because Ælfgifu did not wish to possibly ruin relations between Asgard and Taerelyn before they have even begun. Please do the wise thing and leave the poor woman alone," Loki advised his brother, even though he already knew the response.

"Actually, Prince Loki," Xaindruss began, "My sister and myself come from Sevyke, the Au Ra homeworld," he continued, "What's more, both myself and my sister are twins and both in line for the royal throne of Sevyke!" he finished with laughter.

"Which for those of you too slow to work it out on your own," Adrette chimed as she grinned, "Means that while the twins are not officially here to represent their world, they will be informing their family and people of Asgard and voicing their thoughts on future relations with this realm!" Adrette then glanced over at Odin. "Ya might want to get your boy here to back off on Ælfgifu, if you ever want peaceful trade with Sevyke in the future that is," She flat out told him.

Loki had to duck his head to keep the chuckle and smile at that news as concealed as possible. He had always known that Thor would one day ruin things for Asgard, but for one of the people Thor had been annoying to turn out to be a secret princess was just too priceless to him.

Xaindruss nodded, before getting up, turning to Odin and saying, "I knew your son was an idiot, no offense to you King Odin, from the moment I caught him eyeing my sister, and when I heard him try flirting with my sister, saying something about 'mounting her like some beast', well, it left a foul taste in my mouth that he would say such things to a Lady," he said sadly, shaking his head in disgust.

Thor at least had the decency to look guilty, as his mother gave him that _very_ disapproving and upset look of hers.

"Clearly, Thor has not been taught how to speak to women, and thus only sees them as things of pleasure," Adrette noted dryly. "Glad I chose to pursue the better brother then, for he at least knows how to hold his tongue," Adrette sent a flirty wink to Loki.

Odin pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "Thor, to your room, we will be speaking of your behaviour later!" he commanded.

Thor looked shocked, he had not been ordered to his room since he was only a century old, and least of all by his father, but, scared by this unprecedented event, he listened and left with an air of defeat.

Xaindruss eyed Thor as he left, and once he was gone, turned to Odin and said, "I think he needs more than a 'talking to', King Odin," he sighed, "Regardless, if he does not clean up his act, we will encourage our friends, the royal family of Taerelyn, not to trade with Asgard, and we will do the same on the principle of Honor!" he finished proudly before turning to King Esegar to hear his thoughts.

Esegar gave a slow nod of his head. "I fear Xaindruss has the right of things Odin. My people will not do business with those who have insulted our allies, and we have had a long standing relationship with the Au Ra people for many years now. Should we have reason to believe that your son will continue to act the way he has to Ælfgifu, and most of all should we have reason to believe your people can not get along with the Au Ra, then we shall have no choice but to end things here and now with you and your people," Esegar warned.

Odin sighed, "I will ensure to do my best to curb his... _more outspoken_ outlooks, you have my word he will change, one way or another..." he replied. "If you allow, I will take my leave while my lovely wife remains to watch over the feast," he said diplomatically asking if he was allowed to leave and educate his son better.

Esegar and Vren voiced their approval for Odin to deal with this now, as both knew that it was best to deal with such a problem as soon as possible before a stubborn child is able to convince themselves that everyone else is the problem.

When Odin had left the table Vren sighed and turned to Frigga. "He calls telling a woman that one wishes to mount them like a beast an 'outspoken outlook'. I am not sure he understands just how great of an offense this is to an Au Ra woman." Vren was disappointed in Odin's choice of words and hoped it was merely a slip of the tongue rather than his actual thoughts on the matter.

Xaindruss nodded, "We are a proud race, who value honor," he added in agreement, "Best not let Ælfgifu know of what occurred other than to say that Thor will no longer harass her anymore," he said wisely.

"Regardless of what my husband says on the matter to you or to our eldest son, I assure you that when I am done with Thor he will never dare to utter such things again! I am shocked and deeply angered that he would even think to say something like that to anyone. I thought we had raised him better, clearly not all of my lessons were remembered," Frigga told Vren. "I am ashamed of him for speaking to a friend of your family in such a way and shall do all in my power to make sure he keeps his distance from Ælfgifu from this moment on." She then turned to Xaindruss, "Please pass along my apologies to your sister and my promise that this will not happen again."

"Of course your majesty," Xaindruss said while bowing his head respectfully to Frigga, "Shall we now all return to the feast?" he asked with a smile, glad that things would be well handled by those it should be.

Frigga smiled, "Yes, let us try to enjoy tonight at least a little."

While the royals returned to their meal, Sif and the Warriors three were having a different discussion.

"That should be me being propositioned by Thor!" Sif whispered angrily to the Warriors Three.

Hogan shot Sif a queer look before shaking his head and heading over to talk with Xaindruss.

Volstagg, meanwhile, was stuffing his face, as per usual. And as for Fandral, he was subtly eyeing Sif out of the corner of his eye as he chatted up some of the maids.

**~w~**

**~AN: Ogremen: Me and Oracle have been butting heads on this, we hope you enjoy this chapter, lol And look forward to more. Now for a word from the Queen of fortune telling and darkness herself! ^w^**

**Oracle: If only you knew the amount of head butting over this chapter. Also real sorry for the long wait, we wanted to get a good sense as to the feelings of everyone towards a rewrite, then both Ogremen and I went to a convention to meet up, him for a day and me for four days, and right now I have bug wearing me down. So writing might be limited for a bit while I get over it, sorry bout that. Also please give feedback on this chapter, if will help moving forward with it and we really want to get your thoughts on it. Just to be clear though, the names Miqo'te and Au Ra are indeed from Final Fantasy XIV (or 14 for those who don't know their roman numerals), as those two races were the inspiration for these races. No this doesn't mean we are bringing in a lot of Final Fantasy stuff into this one, just that we wanted to use those two races and this is the best way we could find. Adrette is based off my Miqo'te character in FF14 and both Xaindruss and Ælfgifu are based off Ogremen's characters. Just to give you a little back story behind how they came to be. Anyway, please share your thoughts on this chapter and everything in it and we'll see what happens in the future.**


	2. Betrothals and Confrontations

** ~Asgard, a few weeks after feast****, near the edge of the forest**

Loki frowned as he moved deep into the forest, his eyes scanning for any signs of recent activity while he tried to make as little noise as possible. He paused for a moment as he heard a faint giggle to his right but then continued forward as if he hadn't heard anything. It was only when he was a few feet from where he heard the sound did he turn and toss a small pouch at the spot the giggle had come from, a victorious grin on his face.

No sooner had the pouch made contacted with the ground did a sudden weight land on Loki's back, sending him tumbling down to the forest floor with something on his back. A light giggle was the only reason he didn't react as he normally would to being pounced on like so.

There was a brush of warm breath by his ear before a voice whispered, "I win."

Loki chuckled. "Is this game very popular back on Taerelyn?" He questioned as Adrette got off his back and helped him up.

"Mostly with Miqo'te mates. Why? Are you not enjoying yourself?" She asked him playfully.

"I was not trying to imply that. Merely wondering as to how often I should expect this little game to come up in the future," He explained. "It does allow one to test other such skills after all," He pointed out.

"Oh don't you worry, I won't ask to play it too often." She then leaned in a little. "Wouldn't want to throw out your back and prevent any other _fun_ activities after all," Adrette told him with a playful wink.

** ~w~**

** ~Meanwhile at the Hall~**

Xaindruss leaned against a balcony railing as he looked out over Asgard, as he did, his nose twitched as he detected someone behind him approaching smelling like perfume and scented oils.

"Hello unknown Asgardian," Xaindruss said as he sipped his mead.

"Hello, Xaindruss of the Au Ra of Sevyke," the woman said in a haughty voice.

"Someone knows of me, but not the other way around," Xaindruss chuckled, deciding to remain friendly for now.

"Forgive my manners," the woman spoke and bowed, "Amora the Enchantress, at your service," she introduced.

"Pleasure," Xaindruss replied, "Word has it that you fawn over Thor, so that begs the question of what are you doing here, with me?" he asked curiously with an arched eyebrow.

"I saw you here, alone, watching the forest where the Miqo'te Princess is with Prince Loki," Amora said confidently.

Xaindruss grinned, "What of it?" he asked, he thought he may have figured out what she was getting at, but, he wanted to hear her say it to confirm his thoughts.

Amora smirked, "You love the princess, and wish that she took notice of you over Prince Loki," Amora began, "With my magic, I could help you," she said confidently.

Xaindruss's smile faded, "Loved, now she is just a good friend who I had a crush on," he corrected Amora, making her smile deflate a bit, "But what of it? I am just worried about her as she has never taken an interest in the opposite sex before," he said confidently, "So, this begs the question, did you think to manipulate me into helping you get Thor in exchange for Adrette noticing me finally?"

Amora frowned, "Plans change, I am now more curious by your mind and how it was able to deduce my plan," Amora said, and it was true, she had been planning to manipulate the half-breed dragon, but now, well, he had piqued her interest, and she would not be satisfied till she had him in her grasp.

Xaindruss chuckled, "Sorry, but blondes don't interest me," he chuckled, "Anyway, I just finished my mead, and this conversation is boring me," he said as he stood up and walked past her, "Try again if you ever figure out how to make your hair presently red..." he added as he walked past her and into the Hall for more mead.

Amora stood there for a moment, shocked, her golden locks, considered by many as one of her most attractive features, was not enough to win over this dragon half-breed? This could not stand, she immediately raced to her private chambers to look up spells and such that might work on Xaindruss.

** ~w~**

** ~Meanwhile with Odin and Frigga~**

"He has been told repeatedly to stay away from Ælfgifu, and yet every day I hear more reports of him approaching her. Do you truly not care that our son is not only disobeying our orders to stay away from her, but also hindering our future friendship with the Nenkonee people, as well as any chance of friendship with the Au Ra people!" Frigga demanded of Odin. "While I do not like being hard on our children, I fear you are not being hard enough on Thor about this. This is not a simple matter of sweets being stolen from the kitchen before dinner."

Odin sighed, on the one hand, he would really like to add Ælfgifu to his family through marriage, but with the way Thor is now, it would just end horribly, for everyone, as such, he decided to suggest an alternative, "What if we were to arrange for Sif to marry Thor, just make arrangements for them to be betrothed?" he asked, "Hopefully that will teach him to be more mature?" he suggested.

Frigga sighed. "I doubt forcing this arrangement will do anything to correct this behavoir, however with luck, he will at least honor his engagement to Sif and keep his distance from Ælfgifu once the announcement has been made," She then fixed Odin with a look that promised pain. "However, should he continue to pester her, you must be more strict with him. He is to one day take the throne after all,and this kind of behavoir will not do Asgard, nor our son, any favors."

"Agreed," Odin said, happy that this issue might be solved, he then spotted Amora leaving the hall, "Hmm, wonder what she was up to this time..." he muttered before shaking his head and looking around, "Where is Loki and Adrette?" he asked curiously to Frigga.

Frigga thought for a moment. "I believe they went out for a walk together," A smile broke out on her face, "It is good to see them both getting along so well. Makes me happy to see Loki growing close to someone at last," She commented.

Odin harrumphed, "If you recall, he has been both a father and a mother even in the past due to his transformation powers," he countered, "As such, I do believe the words you mean to say were not some hill giantess looking to strike at us!" he finished so only she could hear him.

Frigga glared at him for that. "There was no proof she plotted such things. You allowed your own paranoia to interfere with our son's happiness and it's truly a wonder if he has forgiven you for what you did!" She reminded him. It hurt greatly to recall how depressed Loki had been after the loss of his wife and his children were banished from the realm.

Odin sighed, he hated being at odds with his wife, so he conceded defeat...for now. "Well, he seems happier now, then he did before, so, let us encourage it shall we?" he said, trying to move things along.

Frigga went to say something when she spotted Loki and Adrette exiting the forest. The two appeared to be in high spirits as they laughed while pulling leaves and small branches from their clothes and hair. "I doubt we will need to much to encourage them," She commented with a smile as she pointed to them.

Odin turned to look where she was pointing and frowned, on the one hand, it was clear that Adrette and Loki were getting along, but at the same time, Loki was covered in dirt.

Seeing the turn in Odin's expression, Frigga's also started to frown herself. "What's wrong now?" She asked, slightly dreading the answer as she had a feeling it was either a case of misunderstanding on his part or something completely childish.

Odin sighed, sagging in his seat, "I am both proud and also a bit disappointed in Loki," Odin replied to Frigga, "On the one hand, he is clearly enjoying the time Adrette spends with him, on the other, did he have to wear one of his best suits to 'play in the forest' with her?" he sighed again as he finished.

Frigga's frown turned into a glare at that. "This from the man who laughed when Thor wandered into a trade meeting completely naked save for his helmet! Since when have you cared about Loki's state of dress during any moment?" She demanded.

Odin cringed inside a bit at that, it was true, he had never showed Loki much affection or proper attention, hell, he was even hiding the truth of what Loki really was from him. Sighing in defeat, he turned to Frigga and said, "I have been a terrible father to Loki, haven't I?" he asked sadly.

"In order to be a father to Loki, you would have had to have been a part of his life for more than just punishments!" Frigga answered bluntly. "His teachers are more family to him then you have been."

Odin sighed, "Mayhaps a way to get into his good graces may present itself in the future..." he said hopefully.

Frigga sighed. It was also 'in the future', or 'later', or even just 'next time', when it came to Odin doing something to make amends with Loki. "He is no longer a boy. He's a grown man, and if things go well between him and Adrette, he could find himself moving to her realm to live out the rest of his days by her side. When will the future be today? For it cannot be when he no longer is around and you are not getting any younger," She reminded him.

Odin let out a hmm followed by a 'humph', before turning his attention to Frigga once more, "Loki is full of surprizes, and besides, he loves Asgard too much to leave," Odin countered, "Regardless, shall we hold a feast to announce Thor's betrothal to Sif, or should we do something quiet, family only for that?" he asked her.

Frigga wanted to point out that Adrette was more likely to be the one chosen to rule her realm then Mar was, due to her being an alpha, and thus Loki's future marriage to her would mean that he would have to leave Asgard to aid Adrette in ruling Taerelyn, she also wanted to point out that no one in Asgard, other than herself, has given Loki any reason to want to stay in Asgard. After all, there were only so many times one can be mocked openly by just about everyone in a realm before they would willingly jump at the first offer to live anywhere else. But she decided that she would bite her tongue on these things and simply let Odin be surprised when he sees Loki happily accepting a place in Taerelyn right in front of him and then remind him of Loki's life in Asgard. "Given that this is an important announcement about the future king of Asgard, we should not keep it secret. Best to hold a feast tonight and get it out of the way before Thor has a chance to do anything more to damage relations with both the Au Ra and the Nenkonee."

"Of course my dear," Odin smiled, "We will announce it tonight, and talk with Thor before hand," he told her, he intended for Thor to act with some chivalry after all.

**~w~**

**~With Loki and Adrette~**

"You are actually really good at that game once you get going," Adrette commented to Loki as her giggling subsided.

"I don't often use such skills for games like that, however, once I found my footing, it proved very entertaining," Loki responded as he tried to remember the last time he'd had this much fun. He had a _feeling_ it was during childhood...but he couldn't pin down when exactly.

As they were having fun talking to one another, neither happened to see Sif, glaring at Loki and his_happiness_. She should be the one who was happy, with Loki getting nothing but misery like he deserved, perhaps it would be best to pop the princess's bubble and inform her of some of Loki's...prior...mates...she then grinned, yes, that would do nicely. Making up her mind, she walked over to them and cleared her throat, getting the Princess's and Loki's attention, the latter of whom instantly went on guard.

Adrette had seen Sif around the palace and even during the feast. Personally, Adrette felt the woman was little more than an over inflated ego with no real taste in clothes. "Can we help you?" Adrette questioned, knowing she was better off being civil for now until Sif gave her good reason to act out.

Loki wanted to just keep walking, to ignore Sif and take Adrette as far from her as possible. However, since Adrette had already spoken to Sif, he could only hope Sif didn't do what he felt she was most likely there to do.

Sif cleared her throat and smiled innocently at Adrette, "Lady Sif of Asgard, strongest female warrior in Asgard," she introduced herself, "I couldn't help noticing how much time Loki has spent around you, and, I thought you should know, he is a widower and a father, and, if rumors are true, a mother to boot," she said innocently, "I just hope he informed you of this before deciding to pursue you romantically," she continued, "After all, it would be bad form to not inform you of his previous relationship with enemies of Asgard!" she finished.

Loki held his breath as he waited to hear Adrette's reaction to this news. He wasn't going to lie to himself and claim it didn't look bad, and thus could only hope that Adrette could get past it all.

Adrette tilted her head to one side in thought as she turned over the information she had just been given. "No, he hadn't yet said any such thing to me about any of that," She replied. "But I fail to see what business it is of yours what he tells me, as our relation has nothing to do with some _warrior_ of Asgard," Adrette informed Sif with a look of annoyance. "Also, clearly you've not been informed that beta males of my kind often have the ability to carry children, so Loki being a mother is actually perfectly acceptable for myself and my people," She continued. "And the fact that he's had children before is just wonderful!" Adrette then turned to Loki, "I do so hope that one day I can meet these children of yours myself, for I would love to get to know them, and have even a tiny place in their lives one day!" Adrette then turned back to Sif. "But like I said before, why should it matter to some _random_ warrior of Asgard just what their prince has told a princess they are in courtship with? Oh, and you really should recheck your information there _Siffy_. Cause I am the one who began courtship with him, not the other way around."

Sif was internally fuming at her plan backfiring like this, she had aimed and hoped to drive a wedge between Loki and a potential source of happiness for him, after all, cause of him, her hair was black and no magic could return it to his original true Asgardian blonde. Whats more, she hated him for all the times he had pranked her and Thor in the past, and she was sure he had plans to over throw his brother too, she was sure of it! Deciding to add the proverbial cherry to try and regain her footing, she spoke up with a sad look, "Sadly, his only daughter is trapped in Hel, as its ruler apparently, as for his sons, well, they have been banished from Asgard and locked up, as they should for they are prophesized to destroy Asgard during Ragnarok!" she exclaimed.

Adrette tilted her head to the other side this time. "Huh? Funny, I seem to recall hearing that Surtur was going to be the one to destroy Asgard during Ragnarok. You people have two end of Asgard prophecies? How strange that is," She commented. "Also really? You people banished the children who were supposedly foretold to be the ones to bring about the end of days? Have you not heard of _self-fulfilling prophecies_? That is the dumbest thing you could have done regarding those children, as it gives them no reason not to want to see that prophecy come true," Adrette sighed. "This is why I dislike prophecies, people make stupid choices when they know what's going to happen in the future, but never give any thought to what happens between the _now_ and the _then_."

Sif wanted to cuss out Adrette for being so daft and blinded to the danger of not heeding prophecies, but she held her tongue, lest Odin cut it off for disobeying her king. So, instead she said, "One of his _children_, is Jormungandr, the world serpent, with the deadliest known poison to Asgard," she replied with some heat in her tone, "His other son is Fenrir the Giant Wolf, who is fated to eat his grandfather whole!" she continued, getting more heated, "And finally, Hela of Hel is prophesized to bring an army of the dead to Asgard and destroy us and add us all to her army, Loki has even been prophesied to open the way for them by leading the Jotunns himself!" she finished with anger and rage in her voice, but of course it wasn't just directed at Loki, but also at Adrette for, in Sif's mind, consorting with the prophesied doom bringer of Asgard's future.

Adrette stared at Sif for a few seconds before sighing. "Yeah, you are trying way too hard at this point to convince me to abandon Loki and, in truth, you are just proving yourself to be the sort of person my people want nothing to do with," Adrette explained, "Look, I don't care what some prophecy says, because until they are fulfilled, I know that prophecies can be changed in one form or another. So I really have no interest in listening to what some _lowly warrior_ like yourself, has to say on the matter, and I shall be informing my family to avoid all contact with _you_!" Seeing that Sif was about to start yelling, Adrette quickly cut her off. "Stay away from myself, Loki, and my family, or else I shall be certain to take my complaints about you right to your king and queen! And as they really want to make things work between our realms, I can only imagine the punishment you will receive for continuing to harass us!"

Loki could only stare at Adrette in shock of everything she had just said. She was not turned away by his past, by his children, by the fact that he had even mothered some children, and she wasn't even interested in the prophecies around his side of the family and that hung over his head? Not only that but she was threatening to _ruin_ Sif, if Sif didn't leave them alone? Loki couldn't help but find himself falling a little more in love with the 'cat girl' at his side for that, never mind the fact that she had been pretty brutal in her shutting down of Sif. He just couldn't stop a smile from breaking out over his face for that.

Sif, now fuming visibly, grunted, "Fine, but if doom comes for Asgard, remember, Loki's head is the first one the King will call for!" she reminded Loki pointedly. With her last barb spoken and thrown, she turned and left to go to the training yard to blow off her new anger and hatred for the princess.

Once she left, Hogun of the Warriors three approached, having heard what Sif said by shamelessly eavesdropping he cleared his throat, getting Adrette's and Loki's attention, "My apologies, Princess Adrette," he began, "She speaks of the views of some Asgardians, but not all," he said, "Also, you should know, Sif may not be crafty about being sneaky, but, she is a dangerous foe to have and you should be wary of her, as for myself, I am personally glad Loki has found happiness, for too long has it been since I last saw Prince Loki truely smile," he said, surprising Loki with the fact he had noticed the last time Loki had smiled as much as he had been lately.

Adrette rolled her eyes. "If she thinks I have reason to fear her, then she has another thing coming to her. After all, she's never been a part of the Miqo'te annual hunts where we cull the more deadly beasts back on Taerelyn. In any case, if 'Doom', as she puts it, finds its way to Asgard, Loki and I will be tucked nicely away in my realm where any Asgardian will have to fight a war to reach him!" Adrette said dismissively.

Loki frowned at Hogun's words as he thought back to the times he's been happy and yet could not recall Hogun being anywhere around during those times. "What do you mean Hogun? When have you last seen me this happy?" He questioned.

Hogun hummed in thought for a moment, recalling past memories before he smiled, "It would be about...twenty five maybe thirty years ago," Hogun replied to Loki, "You had a certain...'air' about you, one you had not had before that time, you were more...'light on your feet', if you will, and then, about twenty four years ago, you just seemed weighed down, forcing smiles, and clearly in pain but trying to hide it, I would have tried to comfort you, but you were always quick to sequester yourself away from others when you could and refuse to talk with anyone lest you had to," Hogun said, before shrugging his shoulders, "Personally, I just thought you might have found a mistress who understood you or something new to pique your interest and that Odin or Thor had ruined it for you," he finished sadly.

Loki was shocked at how close to being correct Hogun was, and it left him slightly worried about who else might've noticed his behavior during that time. "Oh! You mean back then." He then cleared his throat lightly as he thought of what to say quickly. "I was in little mood for the long time after then for much conversations after what happened, and I still do not wish to speak of it. Though I am both surprised and grateful to know that you had been concerned for my state back then, I thank you for speaking of it now though." Loki could feel Adrette's eyes on him, clearly she was interested in what happened back then, but when he glanced at her she gave him a reassuring look that suggested she wasn't going to poke at something he clearly wasn't ready to speak of.

Hogun nodded, "Very well, you should know, Volstagg thinks it was during that time you had found another wife, I thought it was because you had found a mistress you had been very taken with, these are what Volstagg and myself personally thought was the case, Volstagg, as you know, eats a lot, what not many realise is, he has an eye for spotting those who are in love," Hogun grinned now, a rare sight indeed, "Anyway, I will let you conduct yourselves as you see fit, and leave you two be, oh, and don't worry about telling your father about Sif, I shall do it on your behalf, and let him punish Lady Sif himself, no reason to make her hate you any more then she does already, right?" he finished as he bowed to Loki, something he had never done before and walked off to find Odin.

Loki was stunned by both the honesty, and the seeming respect, that Hogun had just shown him, as well as learning that Volstagg was also aware that something was happening back then. It brought to question to Loki just how little he truly knows about those two friends of Thor.

"Well, that was kind of him to offer to speak to Odin for us. However, I do believe we should speak to my parents at the very least. You will come with me and speak of Sif's behavior, as well as that of her past behavior, right? I want my parents to know what sort of woman she truly is," Adrette asked as she lightly pulled Loki toward the chambers she knew her parents had been given.

"Hm? Oh...um, yes!" Loki agreed as he was pulled from his thoughts. "Best to warn King Esegar and Queen Vren of Sif's intentions, before she has a chance to get her hooks in them!" He agreed, "Oh, and, thank you for staying with me. Not many, after hearing all of that, would wish to even be seen near me..." He hated how vulnerable he sounded right then, but he truly couldn't help it as that was a very big sore spot for him.

"If I was going to let such silly things as prophecies, and you having past wives as well as children before me bother me, well, I would be a joke of an alpha. We alpha women are no dainty little flowers that crumble at the slightest breeze, though you will be telling me about these children of yours later!" Adrette informed him pointedly. "Now come on, we have to speak to my family about that two faced little bitch!"

**~w~**

** ~Five minutes later, with Adrette, her parents, and Loki~**

Adrette made sure to knock on her parent's door and wait for them to tell her to come in before opening the door and stepping inside. "Sorry to bother you both right now, but something happened that we think you should know about," Adrette explained as they approached the chairs her parents were sitting in.

Esegar chuckled as he looked at his daughter and her chosen mate, "Looks like someone and their prospective mate were enjoying each other's time together and alone..." he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively before promptly being smacked upside the back of his head by his wife.

Adrette rolled her eyes. "We weren't doing anything more than playing hide and hunt!" She protested, "Anyway, that's not important right now though, what _is_ important, is what that low browed slug sucking 'female warrior' _Lady_ Sif tried to do, and very poorly hide what she was trying to do I might add."

"Oh?" Esegar asked, getting more serious now that he realised that his daughter was her for a reason. "Do tell, what did the 'Lady' Sif try to do and apparently very poorly?" he asked. Vren was always paying more attention now too as it was clear her daughter was quite upset.

Adrette launched into the story of how Sif had approached them, and what she had told Adrette, being sure to leave out no detail while Loki remained silent next to her.

Loki found himself holding his breath for the second time that day, as he watched Esegar and Vren listen to Adrette's recounting of what Sif had revealed about him. It was one thing for Adrette to hear about Loki's past, and prophesied future, and still accept him, but it was a completely other thing for her parents to hear about it and be alright with it. It was too much to hope for that her parents would also be alright with most of what they were now hearing. Sure, the being a mother part of the story might not be so bad, as it wasn't unheard of in Taerelyn, but the rest of it could be a big problem with the king and queen. However, Adrette had insisted they hear it all and Loki knew, one way or another, someone was bound to tell them about his past.

When Adrette finished her retelling of the encounter, Esegar hummed in thought for a moment, before looking up at Loki, "To be the burden of a prophecy is no easy, task, even to me, that is clear, especially when one is prophesied to be the doom bringer of one's own people, regardless, normally, I would offer you my protection on our home world to escape the prejudices of those who hate you for what your _fated_ to bring. But I fear Odin would want to keep you close due to his apparent nature of wanting to control things for the greater good, it's probably a nature born of good intentions, but, as they say, the road to evil is paved with good intentions, and harms the ones we love as a result," Esegar explained when he saw Loki`s face fall, "However, regardless of whether you end up with Adrette or not, no matter how likely it is you will given how things are between you two, you will _always_, have our backing, and our trust, after all, you're practically family..." he finished with a wink, before being smacked upside the back of the head by his wife. When he looked at her for an explanation for the smack, she chuckled.

"The smack was for being a smartass and also trying to make him blush dear husband," Vren said, before turning to Loki and smiling at him, "Remember Loki, despite prophecies, most are self-fulfilling cause people are unwilling to change once they hear them, but, it's not what we do, it's how we make those choices, along with the reason for them, that things happen," she then smiled a wry grin, "Has anyone questioned if you might destroy Asgard in the future for its own good?" she asked Loki thoughtfully.

Loki, still trying to get over the shock of not being rejected by Adrette's parents shook his head. "Most everything that is deemed harmful to Asgard in any form is either destroyed right away, imprisoned, or locked in the treasure vault," Loki answered.

"So Odin is a _paranoid_ ruler then," Vren said, "And as they say about paranoid rulers and leaders, they don't last long..." she said sadly.

"Wait, do you mean to tell me you are truly alright with what you have just heard about me? That none of that bothers either of you?" Loki wanted to kick himself for asking that, but he just had to know for sure because, this was just insane to him. Did the Nenkonee people just in general not care for the things that Asgard does? If so, then maybe he should think about sneaking out of Asgard and moving to Taerelyn after all.

Esegar and Vren just smiled back at him in response.

** ~w~**

**~With Odin and Frigga~**

Odin sighed and placed his head in his hands after Hogun left, "Oooh," he groaned, "Why is it that with the introduction of a lost realm, things have suddenly started happening in Asgard..." he mumbled loudly.

Frigga sighed heavily. "Why did you expect otherwise? Our people have not know anyone new for such a long time, they have forgotten how to act with strangers, let alone foreign royalty. Had you not cut all ties with Midgard, or at the very lest, allowed for more interaction with the other worlds out there, this might have been avoided," She pointed out. "Our people are so set in their ways that they don't know how to treat the Nenkonee or even how to bite their tongues around them in regards to matters that that are best not spoken of." Frigga's eyes then hardened as she glared at her husband. "And what did you expect from Sif, one of the loudest voices against our youngest son? She has always been against him, and even openly spoke out against allowing him to even so much as roam the halls of the palace because of that prophecy regarding him. Something she and others in Asgard are only able to do because you remain silent in regards to when they do these things. Had you but a few times spoken out against those who spoke ill of Loki, Sif might not have been so bold," Frigga then let out a sigh. "I can only hope this will not ruin matters between Loki and Adrette where Esegar and Vren are concerned."

"Agreed," Odin said, "I might not approve of all of Loki's pranks in the past, but, I can at least try to support him now, and hopefully have him take notice of my efforts..." he said as he turned and led them to the Hall for dinner.

Frigga felt that it might be a little too late to try to win over Loki, but she said nothing on the matter to Odin about it, however she would be speaking to Loki at some point soon regarding it as well as to find out what happened with Adrette and her family. If things had gone horribly, then Loki would need her, but if things had gone well, then Frigga would celebrate with him over this wonderful turn of events. But that would come after the announcement of Sif's betrothal to Thor. A thought popped into Frigga's mind at that moment, one that made her slightly worried about the announcement. With her future of becoming the next queen announced, would Sif become a better person...or would she become a worse one for Asgard, most of all towards Loki.

**~w~**

** ~Later that night, at the grand feast that Odin had called~**

Odin looked out at everyone who had gathered, "Welcome, welcome, my people, welcome one and all to this grand feast called in celebration of two events being announced tonight," Odin announced, "One of those, is the announcement that we, my wife and I, have decided to betroth our son, Thor, to the best and brightest female warrior we have in Asgard, the Lady Sif!" he announced, however, he did not get the reaction he was expecting. True, many of his people were clapping, but almost as many were not clapping, granted, they made it _look_ like they were clapping or happy at the announcement, but to Odin's trained eye, he could tell, that many of his people were decidedly _unhappy_, with this announcement. Once the clapping died down, Odin cleared his throat, and spoke once more, "The other news I bring, is of a less..._definite..._nature," he began, "I am interested in beginning talks with King Esegar of Taerelyn in betrothing Prince Loki of Asgard to Princess Adrette of the Nenkonee!" he announced, this time, the reaction was more noticeable, while many were happy, and clapping for Loki, almost as many, if not more, were decidedly _unhappy_, about this annoucement the ones that were unhappy with the announcement didn't even bother to cover their displeasure or pretend to clap.

Frigga had not been expecting the last announcement so soon and made a point of glaring at her husband for saying nothing to her about it. Leaning in she whispered, "Given what Sif told Adrette, and that Adrette repeated it all to her parents, perhaps it would've been better had you held your tongue on that, to see if Esegar and Vren are still accepting of Loki before announcing such a thing to the kingdom!" To which a look a passed over Odin's face that told her he hadn't thought about that.

Adrette had rolled her eyes at the announcement of Thor and Sif, and even snorted at the bit about Sif being one of the brightest, but then she looked over at her brother and saw how upset he was by this news. "Sorry about that Mar. I know you had your heart set on him, but to be fair, you didn't make your intent really known to them," Adrette comforted him.

Mar sighed and pushed away his heartbreak at the news. "Well, they might be betrothed, but they are not yet married. Perhaps a few more attempts before I give up," Mar told her in a hopeful tone, making his sister roll her eyes at him. While Mar did still want to try to win Thor over, he was more continuing because he still had a few gifts for Thor that he wanted to give him, and one thing Mar hates most of all, is when he goes through such trouble to craft something for someone, only to not be able to give it to them at all. It drives him crazy.

Loki had internally groaned at the thought of Sif and Thor marrying. The woman was already impossible to keep pretending to like as it was, insufferable even, but to have her be the future queen? Loki was truly thinking about leaving for Taerelyn now, just so he could keep his freedom. But when the announcement of the upcoming talks with Esegar and Vren about a betrothing between Loki and Adrette came up, Loki was torn between being delighted at the thought of having Odin onboard with him marrying someone he actually liked, and annoyed that it had only been a few weeks since things began between him and Adrette, and already Odin wanted to pretty much start planning the wedding. From the looks his mother was giving him though, Loki knew that she was going to be speaking with him about this and other matters very soon.

King Esegar, meanwhile, was contemplating what Odin had announced, on the one hand, he was all for Loki and Adrette 'tying the knot', but, he would have to talk to Odin about announcing things like this, _before_talking with those involved. Vren was of a similar mind to her husband, and looking at him, they conversed what to say to Odin without speaking.

** ~w~**

**~AN: Ogremen: Well, that was quite something huh? What you guys think of Sif's...'behaviour', towards Adrette and Loki? We decided to use mythology, comics, and the MCU info on characters to provide us with inspiration for the characters, regardless, let us know what you think of the chapter, and now, for a word from the Mistress of Prophecy herself, Lady Oracle! lol**

**Oracle: Alright, before anyone starts complaining about Sif bashing, please remember that this is before the events of Thor, meaning that this Sif hasn't had any contact with anyone outside of Asgard who ****_isn't_**** an enemy. So she doesn't really know too much about how to behave around friendlies from a realm she's not familiar with. Thus why she acted out here in this chapter. We are going to try to control our Sif bashing *makes a point to glance at Ogremen* so please bear with us on this. Also please share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section as we do love feed****back, also if you see anything wrong with the story, please remember to be cons****t****ructive if you want that thing****/s**** fixed. We will ignore those who are simply saying ****'****you suck****'**** or ****'****This story is crap****'****. So keep that in mind when trying to get across something that's not right in the story.**


	3. Engagement And Celebration

**AN: Ogremen: The final Prestory chapter, but hopefully you guys will enjoy it, and now, on with the show!**

** Oracle: Now to see how things wrap up for the pre chapters. How will events go in this one, you have to read to find out so off you go! :D**

** ~Asgard Royal Chambers~**

Odin sighed as he sat heavily into the more comfortable chair of his royal chambers. Then, looking up, he smiled at King Esegar, "So, shall we discuss Loki and Adrette's impending betrothals?" he asked hopefully.

Esegar shook his head with an amused smile. "The way you keep speaking about this matter, one would almost think it was your own marriage you were trying to set up," He chuckled.

Odin gave a sigh, "I wish to finally do something right by my youngest," he countered, "After all the pain and misery I subjected him to over the centuries..." and suddenly Odin sagged in sadness, showing his advancing age.

"While I can understand that, in some part, I know that there is nothing worse than rushing a young couple into marriage. Nenkonee courtship can take anywhere between a few months to several years, depending on the couple. And let's not forget, both of our children are alphas. This sort of thing is far more tricky then a relationship between alpha and beta," Esegar explained. "Push too hard and it will have a very negative impact on them. They must be the ones to decide when the time is right."

Odin sighed, "My son hasn't always been what you describe as an 'alpha'," he tried to explain, "At the same time, I think your daughter likes what Loki presents of himself, in both an 'alpha' and non 'alpha' role," he explained, while it was true Loki could give birth himself, that was only when he took female forms.

Esegar raised a brow at that before letting out a heavy sigh. "You seem to misunderstand what being alpha and beta mean to my people. These roles are not tied to gender. There are many women in Taerelyn who are alphas. What these roles are has more to do with personality then if one can breed or not," Esegar explained, wondering how Odin had missed that important detail during the times they've spoken about such things.

Odin sighed, "I fear I do not understand your people as well as we thought, but you must understand, there are many who would rejoice at seeing Loki united with someone, even if only in name of a contract," he stated, "We do not have to make the contract a definite, just one that says we are going to see if their relationship can work, that's all," Odin tried to explain.

"And you think my daughter would agree to such a thing?" Esegar questioned. "She is a Miqo'te and they do not like to be tied down unless it is of their choosing," Esegar them smiled. "You should have seen how long it took me to get Vren to agree to be mine. The number of gifts I brought her, the months spent worrying over if she would ever accept me as her mate, it was all worth it in the end though," He then focused back on Odin. "Mark my words, you try to force this matter my daughter will take offense to it," He warned.

Odin sighed, "Thats why I am suggesting a betrothal contract in name only, not one they have to go through with should they decide they are not right for one another," Odin said adamantly, "Think of it as a way to protect Loki from anyone who _might_ think they could steal him from your daughter," he then smiled softly.

"Steal Loki from Adrette?" Esegar asked before breaking out in laughter. "I pity anyone foolish enough to try to take him from her!" He laughed before getting a hold of himself. "My daughter has never shown interest in a mate before now, and I can assure you she will only let Loki go if it is Loki's wish to end things." Esegar then gave Odin a serious look, "There will be no contract formed unless it is the wish of Adrette and Loki. You say you wish to do better by your son, well, ask him want he wants, what he wishes, and then try to meet his wishes in the middle. For if it is not what he wants then it will only hurt him," Esegar advised Odin.

Odin nodded, "A good idea," He then summoned one of his guards and told him to fetch both Adrette and Loki, he then turned to Esegar again, "Shall we have some of this fine ale I have had aged while we wait?" he asked hopefully.

Esegar truly wondered sometimes how Loki could remain so well mannered and intelligent with a father like Odin around, clearly Frigga was doing everything right to counter Odin's poor parenting. "Very well, I suppose I could do with a drink," Esegar answered, his tail twitching in slight annoyance at his advice seeming to be only half heard.

** ~w~**

** ~With Loki and Adrette~**

Adrette smiled as she looked up at Loki. "You win this round," She told him.

Loki chuckled and began resetting the board. "You have greatly improved at this game since I taught it to you yesterday. I dare say a few more days and you'll be besting me at it every time."

"Not every time," Adrette smiled. "After all, I do so enjoy seeing that smile when you win," She told him.

Loki blushed a little at that. "Given how easily I seem to smile these days with you around, I dare say losing at this game would not lessen how often you see it," He assured her.

Interrupting the moment between the budding couple, a guard approached, "Prince Loki, Princess Adrette," he said bowing to each of them, "Kings Esegar and Odin request your presence," the guard finished before bowing once more and then leaving.

Adrette sighed, "If your father brings up anything about marriage I may take my bow and strangle him with the string..." She growled.

Loki shook his head, "He is far too persistence about our being wed. Both mother and I have been trying to get him to ease off, I fear he is convinced he is doing what's best for us."

"He isn't us though, he has no right to decide what is right when we are not him," Adrette grumbled. "How I wish we were back on Taerelyn, out of his reach and able to court without his interfering."

Loki got to his feet. "As nice as that would be, I fear for now we must entertain my father's wishes," He held his hand out to Adrette and waited till she both took his hand and got to her feet before leading them out the door.

** ~w~**

** ~Back with Odin and Esegar~**

Both men were relaxing, enjoying some nice cold mead by the fire. "You know," Odin began, "I only want this contract in name, not in practice, right?" he asked Esegar.

"If this contract comes to be will be up to our children, as I said before, you should hear what Loki wants and then try to meet him in the middle," Esegar repeated. "You do want things to improve with Loki, correct?"

"Of course I do," Odin sighed with a sad smile, "It's just that I have trouble putting what I mean to do into practice..." he finished.

"Well pushing Loki into things he does not, want or isn't ready for, will not help. You must treat him like an equal, hear what he has to say, his thoughts and feelings on matters, then try to work out the best choice that will make you both happy. I say this as one father to another, not as a king to another," Esegar explained.

Odin nodded, "We cannot always do as we wish and hope for the best all the time," Odin sighed heavily "But I shall try to allow Loki as much freedom as I can and meet him in the middle," Odin said.

At that moment both Loki and Adrette entered the room, and Odin appeared to age before everyones eyes as he let his long years show a bit more than usual.

"Father," Loki greeted.

"King Odin," Adrette greeted, though Esegar could hear in his daughter's voice that she did not want to be here.

Odin sighed, "While I do like how you two have been getting along, I have seen a few maidens eyeing Loki with a 'hungry' look, for lack of a better term, and others eyeing Adrette with jealousy," Odin began, "As such, I would like to make a marriage contract between Prince Loki and Princess Adrette, in name only," he could see Adrette about to burst into an argument and held a hand, "Please, let me finish," he asked softly, "The marriage contract would not specify a date on which you would be wed, just that you are promised to each other, it would offer protection from the other maidens and a few Asgardian lords who might wish to try for Loki and Adrette respectively," he continued, "All I want, is to protect that which you two are building," he finished. Then, looking up at Loki and Adrette, he added, "I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter now," he concluded.

Loki gave his father an unimpressed look. "Other maidens have been looking at me?" He asked. "And of course you don't think I could possibly say no to any of them and that Adrette also wouldn't be able to say no to the lords. You truly think so little of us, don't you?"

"Nenkonee only court one possible mate at a time. Those lords can try all they wish but I have no interest in them unless Loki ends our courtship. And as for these maidens, they lay one hand on Loki while we are courting and I'll make certain they can never bare children."

Odin looked between Loki and Adrette, and smiled, "So no contract is needed if you promise to defend each other from those with less than good intentions?" he asked.

Adrette deadpanned. "What during our courtship ever gave you the impression we would be unfaithful? I mean we're barely away from each other for more then a moment when we are not sleeping," She pointed out.

"I am very happy with Adrette, and given how most of Asgard's maidens have treated me in the past I have no desire to be with any other," Loki answered, casting a smile to Adrette who returned the look.

"Well then, it would appear your fears were for not then," Esegar told Odin happily. "I dare say our children have a tight bond between them and I am certain, when the time is right, they will be announcing their wishes to wed on their own."

Odin smiled at Esegar, "True enough, Esegar," he chuckled, then turning to Loki and Adrette, "Know that you have my blessing should things continue to progress so well," he continued, "I am glad you finally found someone who makes you truly happy Loki," Odin said before suddenly getting up slowly, almost making his bones creak.

Loki was a little surprised to hear that his father was happy for him and his growing relationship with Adrette, but a dark voice in the back of his head told him it was most likely because Odin not only was speaking in front of Esegar and Adrette but also because he really wanted things to go well with the Nenkonee people that he was happy with this. The voice also reminded Loki that, had things been different, it would be Thor with Adrette rather than him. "If that is all then father, Adrette and I shall take our leave," Loki said, wanting to get out of there before anymore dark thoughts could ruin this moment for him.

As Odin left the chamber, moving slower than usual, Esegar turned to Loki, "Well, that went very well," he said happily, drinking the aged Honey Mead, that Odin had offered from his private stock.

** ~w~**

** ~Later that evening~**

"So," Adrette began, "I know your father said he was going to leave us be, or as close as he seems to get with saying that, but we both know he's going to keep going on about us."

Loki sighed, "He truly wants a marriage between us, though if he wants it for my sake or merely the sake of relations between our people I can't fully say."

Adrette studied Loki for a moment before smiling. "Well then, why don't we do it already?"

"Do it?" Loki frowned in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Marriage," She answered as she took hold of his hands. "I mean, I wouldn't mind cutting the courtship short and moving to the wedding at this point. However, as stated before, you are the one with the true power to make this choice. So with that said, do you Loki, wanna get married to me?"

Loki couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Well with a _romantic_ proposal like that," He chuckled before growing serious, "This is what you want though? You truly wish to be tied to me until death?"

"If I have a say in it, we'll be together till the end of days and beyond," Adrette told him, her eyes shining with love for him.

Loki smiled at that. "Well then, if we are to be wed we must let Asgard know of this. How I look forward to those stuck ups reactions to hearing this news." Both Loki and Adrette laughed at that. "Come, there's to be a feast tonight in celebration of some hunt Thor just completed. Let's steal the attention from him with our announcement."

"As if we would announce our engagement at any other time," Adrette grinned.

The couple then headed for the feasting hall where everyone was starting to gather for the celebration.

When the two entered with happy smiles, Odin smiled as he waved them over, only to sigh as he saw Thor flirting with some maiden. Seemed even being promised to Sif could not stop Thor from wandering.

Adrette and Loki took their seats, both silently agreeing to wait for the best moment to make their announcement.

Frigga however could see what the two were plotting and couldn't help but smile. This would be the one time that both Odin and Thor would allow one of Thor's achievements to be pushed into the shadows by Loki.

Odin turning his attention from Thor and his interest of the night, to the great hall, "To everyone in attendance, my son has found, tracked, and killed the biggest boar in Asgard, one which had attacked a village a ways outside the capital," he announced, he was about to continue when Loki cleared his throat, loudly, getting everyone's attention.

Thor sent a glare at Loki for the interruption, wondering what Loki could be deeming so important it couldn't wait for the end of the feast.

Loki stood from his seat. "Sorry to cut your speech off father. While I'm certain the death of this boar is important and clearly, yet another in a long line of achievements of Thor's, I fear this matter is something that I don't think should wait." Loki then took Adrette's hand, helping her stand from her chair. "You see everyone, just a few minutes before this feast, Adrette, princess of Taerelyn, and myself, made an important decision," Loki paused for effect. "We have decided to marry!" He announced loud enough for everyone to hear.

There was silence for a moment before half the hall exploded into loud cheering while the other half just clapped for Loki.

Thor stared at Loki in pure surprise, having not thought that the courtship with Adrette would ever truly led to marriage as, to his eyes at least, they seemed to just be friends. However that surprise quickly turned to joy, at last his brother was to have a proper bride, one the family could approve of and one that clearly made Loki happy as well.

Esegar and Vren cheered loudly for their daughter and Loki, both having seen this outcome coming from the very beginning.

Mar smiled at his sister and began thinking up wedding dress designs he could craft for her. It would not do for her to show up to her wedding day in an Asgardian gown after all.

Hogun grinned at Loki, happy that he and Adrette decided to tie the knot.

Xaindruss smiled, glad he had decided to move, as such, he walked up to Loki, hugged Adrette first, whispering that he was glad for her, then hugged Loki and whispered to him, "You better treat her right, I would lose her heart only to someone who would treat her right..." he pulled with a smile.

Ælfgifu though, ran up to Loki and Adrette and hugged both of them before saying, "Oooh, can I plan the bachelorette party?" she asked with a genuine smile, then turning to Loki said, "And my brother can plan your bachelor party!" she added with a grin.

Adrette chuckled at that. "So long as Xaindruss goes easy on everyone with the drinks. Not everyone can drink as much as the Au Ra can."

Frigga walked over to Loki and Adrette and hugged them both tightly. "I am so proud and happy for you both," she told them.

Odin smiled and said, "In light of this joyous news, let us celebrate with the finest mead Asgard has in the royal vaults!" he declared, shocking everyone, even Loki and Thor, it had been an age since the last time Odin cracked open the royal reserves the Black-Briar mead he had.

Loki could not be happier then he already was. He had stolen Thor's feast right out from under him without any risk of punishment, he was to wed one of the best women he's ever known, Odin approved of the marriage, and not a single person was daring to openly speak out against him right now. Truly this was a wonderful night and the future was starting to look that much better, now that he had someone like Adrette at his side. On top of that, Odin had decided to crack open Asgard's supply of Black-Briar Mead that had been ageing for at least a century, maybe Odin was willing to change his opinion of him after all, Loki mused.

Sif, meanwhile, was glaring at both Loki and Adrette, having not only stolen Thor's thunder proverbially speaking, but also because of the fact that the announcement of her engagement to Thor had not garnered enough interest and happiness in Odin to crack open the reserve of Asgard's Black-Briary Meadery 's oldest order by the palace.

As everyone celebrated, few noticed Odin Odin's tired eyes, a sign the Odinsleep was coming, in fact, only one set of eyes noticed this feature of Odin's face, everyone else could see the joy and happiness radiated from him.

Frigga retook her seat next to Odin and held his hand. She was pleased with him for showing such support for Loki's engagement tonight and could see that he was struggling against the Odinsleep right now. "Just a little longer, and then we can excuse ourselves from the feast," She told him, reminding him that proper manners dictated that they had to remain at least an hour after such an announcement so as not to be considered rude.

**~w~**

** ~An:Ogremen: We hoped you enjoyed the prestory chapters! We butted heads on certain things, but everything worked out in the end! And now, for the Mistress of Prophecies, Oracle!**

**Oracle: These three pre chapters took far longer than they should've to write but here they are in all their glory. Please share your thoughts on them and know that the chapters to come will be the main story chapters.**


	4. Lost Child, New Home

** AN: Ogremen: Well, it's FINALLY started, lol, we hope you enjoy this chapter, and we hope you end up crying at the end, it was not a fun chapter to write given its content. Not like some of the other chapters will be to write... Anyway, now for a word from the Mistress of Prophecies, Oracle!**

** Oracle: So here we are, finally at the actual start of the story. Yes, the chapters before this were all just the prelude to this. We hope you enjoy what we have created and look forward to hearing some feedback. Please give us feedback, we really don't know if you are enjoying it unless you speak up.**

**~Midgard, Little Whinging, England~**

In a rundown part of Little Whinging, England, a young boy with a mop of black hair and piercing green eyes, was wandering down the street. He'd just managed to get away from his bullies, his cousin and his cousin's friends, by running to this rundown street. There were all kinds of stories about it, about how people and things would vanish without a trace, never to be seen or heard from again, The boy's relatives claimed it was nonsense, but they also warned against coming to this street, or rather, they warned his cousin since his relatives don't really care about the boy. So this was the only place, that was a cramped space, that the boy could run to whenever his cousin decided to target him.

He'd run for such a long time without stop and now that he felt safe his body was begging for rest due to his injuries, so he went to the first run down house he could find that provided shade and laid down on the porch. No one would bug him, as the street was abandoned and no one would be by to check the street for people. He would just lay down and take a nap, by the time he got up he was certain his cousin would've gotten bored and gone to find something else to do, leaving him free to slip back home and deal with whatever chores his aunt wants him to complete. 'Just a short nap is all I need right now,' he thought as he slowly lost consciousness.

**~w~**

**~Asgard, Loki's Private Garden~**

As Loki made his way through his private garden that he himself maintained in his free time, both through magic, and hard work, the latter being something that Adrette had gotten him into doing, he couldn't help but feel something was 'off'. As such, he began checking with spells but could find nothing amiss magically, so he began a more thorough search of the garden by hand, looking through the bushes, and plants. After about five minutes of searching, he finally found the 'disturbance', he had sensed, a boy, clearly injured, and already unconscious from his injuries. The boy clearly had a black eye, and torn sleeves, from what looked like a dog biting the arm, there were also red stains along the rip in the sleeves. Thinking this must be one of the Asgardian street urchins, Loki shook the boy's shoulder, intent on finding out how this child got past the guards and into his private garden. A feat that did impress Loki a little given the boy's age, his injuries, and the wards that Loki had fashioned around the garden to protect it from...those who would rather see him unhappy.

As the boy woke up from the most pleasant dream he had ever had, he wondered if the red head with green eyes he had seen was his mother. In the dream, the woman had been singing a lullaby while a man who looked like an older version of himself, but with brown eyes, looked on with a smile. Opening his eyes however revealed a tall, well-dressed man who looked like the one from his dream, but with green eyes, staring down at Harry with a stern look on his face, that alone told Harry he had somehow gotten himself into trouble with this man, which could mean another beating if his uncle finds out about it.

"I would strongly advise that you tell me how you got into my garden child. Tell the truth and I shall simply see that you are escorted off the grounds with no further punishment," Loki ordered the boy, noting that the child had eyes similar to his late daughter's a fact that caused a small amount of pain for Loki.

"Please sir," Harry began, his British accent immediately getting Loki's attention as it indicated Midgardian origins, "I have nos' idea how I got here. One moment I was falling asleeps in one of those abandoned hous's, the next, your shaking me awakes!" the boy said in broken English, mainly due to how his relatives would treat him for speaking better English then his cousin within his relatives home.

Loki frowned in thought. If the boy was from Midgard, then he most likely stumbled upon one of the hidden pathways, but that didn't explain how he ended up in the garden, as Loki would have detected a pathway there back when he first started putting up his ward. Then there were the clear injuries on the boy, clearly this child wasn't being treated well and that made Loki sympathetic to the boy. Finally, there was the matter of the boy's eyes, so much like Loki's late daughter's that it almost hurt to look the boy in the eyes. Loki reminded himself that Midgard did have a magical community and that could help explain how the boy got to his garden. After all, none had tried to apparate while going through a hidden pathway between realms before, and though young, the child could have done so through accidental magic. "Alright boy, tell me what wizarding family you belong to and I shall see you returned to them."

The boy's eyes widened at the use of one of the forbidden words, and said as much, "Ah," he gasped, "You said one of the for-for-forbeden words!" he said, then the rest of what the cool looking man said registered with the boys mind, "I don't know any famlies that are forbidden words," the boy looked down sadly, "I onlys just learned my names is Harry..." he finished with a mumbled tearful look.

Loki stared at the boy, Harry, in disbelief. Wizard was a forbidden word to the boy, and he didn't know any wizarding families? That couldn't be true. There was no possible way a non-magical child had found their way to his garden, it was just impossible! But he did seem to be telling the truth, as far as Harry seemed to know. This left Loki in a tricky place. Odin would get paranoid over the appearance of a random Midgardian child in Asgard, even more so with Adrette and her family here in preparation for the upcoming wedding. Those that detest Loki would try to claim the boy is part of some plot or something to get Loki in trouble. And most of all, if the child couldn't tell him who his family is, then what hope did Loki have of learning where the boy came from without getting other people involved? Loki sighed to himself. "I did not need this stress today..." He mumbled before making a choice. "Alright then, come with me. There's only one option to figure out where you came from then."

The boy looked frightened, "Please no hurts me!" Harry begged, as he shielded himself with his arms, then, seeing the man's confused expression, said, "You won'ts...hurt me?" he asked carefully and in a cautious manner.

"While you are trespassing in my garden I have already decided to not have you punished for it. I simply want to see you returned to where you belong before there's any trouble," Loki explained. "Now come, get to your feet and let's go. I would rather do this while the guards are changing and avoid word reaching my father if at all possible." Loki really didn't want to run into anyone between here and his destination if he could help it. His luck had been good all year so far, he just hoped it held out for this.

Harry tried to get up, he really did, but his legs gave out from under him, cause him to cry out, "Owie..." he cried. Then he winced as his wrist's bruises made themselves known to him, causing him to hiss in pain.

Clearly the boy was more injured then he appeared at first glance. "Right then," Loki sighed as he gently scooped Harry into his arms. Now he really wanted to get through this without being seen, the boy did look like he could in some way be related to Loki and if rumors spread about another child of Loki being found this close to the wedding, it would not go well for Loki. Turning on his heels with Harry carefully tucked into his arms Loki headed for the palace.

Harry watched in awe as they snuck through the golden palace before coming to two wooden doors. When they stopped, Harry shrunk himself as best he could, pulling the man's jacket around himself protectively. Then the man knocked on the door and a woman answered, she was pretty, but Harry had met pretty women before who had only caused him more pain in the end after promising to help him.

Frigga raised a brow at Loki, having spotted the child trying to hide in his arms and jacket and wondering just what Loki had gotten into this time. Stepping aside she waved him in before shutting the door behind him. "Loki, I trust you can explain this?" She asked him pointedly.

"The boy appeared in my garden, mother. He has no idea how he got there, appears to be from Midgard, and seems to know nothing about magic. I want to see him home before anyone else finds out about him." Loki then turned his attention to Harry, "You do not have to hide yourself from my mother. She will not harm you."

Harry whimpered slightly, "Pretty women usually mean pain follow..." Harry said in a frightened voice. Usually, when pretty women had promised to help him in the past, the Dursleys would always find out in the end, and remind him how much of a worthless person, who didn't deserve hope, he was.

Frigga gave Harry a gentle smile. "Well, I assure you that no harm shall come from interacting with me." She then instructed Loki to set Harry down in one of the arm chairs in the sitting area of her room. "So what is it you want me to do exactly, Loki?" She asked her son.

"I need to find out where he came from, what family he belongs to, and most of all, what magic allowed him to find himself in my garden. He seems to not know anything of Midgardian wizardry, so that seems to be out of the question," Loki replied.

"You could not do this yourself?" Frigga questioned dryly with a raised brow.

"I want to be sure the first time," Loki explained. "And you were always better at tracing family lines they I am," Loki admitted, and it was true, his mother was far better at most magic's then Loki was, even more so when it came to tracing things through blood. "Please hurry, before father or anyone else stumbles upon him." He would also have gone to his teacher first, but she was currently not in Asgard, so he had little choice but to go to his mother, who might end up informing his father.

Harry looked between the two adults, trying his best to make himself as small as possible in the chair, shivering slightly. Then he watched as the woman, Frigga, bent down before him, and spoke to him.

"What's your name, little one?" Frigga asked softly.

"H-H-Harry..." Harry replied shakily, "Apparently..." he added, this time much softer causing Frigga and Loki to strain their ears to hear him.

"Well Harry, I am going to help make sure you get back to where you are supposed to be, however I'll need a little help from you," Frigga told Harry. "All I need is a few drops of your blood," Seeing the frightened look on Harry's face she added. "I shall make it as painless as possible and will heal the cut as soon as I'm done."

Harry, growing more frightened at the thought of going back to the Dursleys, began tear up, "No want to go back!" he cried in absolute terror, he knew that if he went back, Vernon would beat him black and bloody this time.

Frigga flinched back at the sheer terror Harry was giving off, 'Could it be, the boy was abused in his home life?' she wondered. "Harry, I promise," she began to reply softly and carefully, "If you allow me to take three drops of blood, you will _never_, have to go back to your home," she finished.

Harry, shaking like a leaf in the wind, slowly stopped shaking and looked at Frigga with a tearful look, "P-p-promise?" he stammered tearfully.

"I promise little one," Frigga replied with a smile, she then took out one of her sewing needles and held it up to show Harry, before going to grab a piece of parchment.

"Will it h-h-hurt?" Harry stammered again, he had been hurt most of his life, he just hoped it wouldn't hurt too badly this time.

Frigga smiled sadly, "Only a little, a small prick, three drops of blood, and I will heal your finger right after, alright?" she replied.

"Mkay," Harry said as he looked on, wondering what the pretty woman would do with his blood.

With that, Frigga softly pricked Harry's fingertip, and allowed for three drops of blood to fall on the parchment, once the three drops fell, she healed his finger, worried about why the boy hadn't even so much as flinched when she pricked his finger.

Frigga then began chanting in Asgardian at the paper and gasped as it revealed Harry's family line, before stopping as it showed Harry's grandparents, knowing that if she continued, it would show his great grandfather, and while normally, she wouldn't mind, but it showed Loki as his grandfather, and given what she knew of who Loki's true father was. She wanted to reveal the truth to Loki, that he wasn't really an Odinson, but she had been forbidden to do so by Odin, and while she felt this unfair, Odin did not, and had forced her to swear she wouldn't reveal the secret. Frigga loved Loki like her own, and while she also wanted to protect him, she knew the secret couldn't remain hidden forever, she would talk with Odin later about this, given this new development.

Loki frowned at his mother's reaction before taking the paper and reading it, his eyes widening as he saw his own name where the boy's grandfather on his mother's side should be. "That's not possible..." Loki whispered. He was Harry's grandfather? But that would have to mean that the daughter he'd had with his last wife had survived after all, and he had been certain she had died with her mother in the fire. But blood does not lie, and Harry's blood clearly showed that his mother was Loki's daughter. Loki had to take a seat at this shocking reveal.

Harry looked between the two adults, "Everything 'right?" he asked carefully, hoping he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursleys.

Frigga looked over at Harry with a reassuring smile. "Just a moment dear. I need to speak with my son," She told Harry before turning to Loki. "Loki, you know we can't keep this a secret now. We must inform your father about this!"

Loki shot to his feet at that. "Are you mad? You know how he will react to this news! How he _always_ reacts!" Loki said before thinking about his upcoming wedding. "Oh, what is Adrette going to say when she finds out?" he groaned.

"Adrette and her family have been accepting of your past before, there's no reason to believe they will suddenly change their feelings now," Frigga pointed out.

"You don't know that!" Loki was already imagining the worst outcome from this discovery. "She was fine when she heard I was both a father and a mother in the past, happy even for it showed I wanted a family of my own. But a grandchild? How could she possibly accept me as a grandfather?" Loki had to retake his seat as panic flooded him. He loved Adrette dearly and could not stand the thought of losing her, but now here was the son of his lost, and formerly believed to be dead, daughter, and he didn't want to give up his grandchild even though he was still freaking out over the child's existence.

Frigga sighed, "Loki," Frigga began, "Look at your grandchild," she hissed softly, "He's terrified, has no clue what's going on, and clearly frightened to death by the thought of sending him back to wherever he was before now, not to mention he is injured!" she added pointedly, "We _have_ to take him to Lady Eir, and you know she is going to ask questions, and while I am queen, we can't exactly lie to her," Frigga finished.

Loki sighed, his mother was right, as usual, they couldn't hide this, not that Loki _actually_ _wanted_ to hide this. He was just scared of what people's reactions would be, what the reactions of his loved ones would be, and most of all, scared of how Harry would be treated. "Alright, let's take him to Lady Eir for healing," Loki said adamantly.

Harry flinched, violently, when Frigga neared and reached to pick him up, reinforcing in both Frigga and Loki's minds that they would to talk with Eir about mental healing for the boy as well as physical, and most likely emotional healing too.

Frigga and Loki then began to carry Harry to the healing chambers, and were halfway there, when Adrette stumbled upon them, looking for Loki, only to freeze at the sight of the injured child in Frigga's arms.

Adrette looked from the child, to Loki, to Frigga, and back to the child a few times, before locking eyes on Loki. "So, why does your mother have a child that makes me think of a younger version of you, and why is he injured?" She questioned Loki with a serious look.

"Adrette," Loki began, stopping when he realized that if he got caught by her lying then it would only make things worse for him. So, with a heavy sigh Loki decided to just be honest with her. "The boy is my grandson, whose mother I had with a Midgardian woman long before I met you. I hadn't known my daughter on Midgard was still alive until my mother discovered this boy's connection to me," He answered, bracing himself for the worst.

Adrette's eyes were wide at that news as she stared at Loki in thought for a few heartbeats. She then slowly walked over to the boy and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Oh, you poor sweet little one, who could've been so mean to you?" She cooed to him as a soft smile spread across her face.

Loki stared at her in shock. "Wait, you aren't mad about this? Or even a _little_ upset?" He asked in disbelief.

"Oh I am upset, make no mistake about that. Upset that someone could let a child get this badly injured. Whatever heartless monsters did this had best hope I never cross paths with them!" Adrette answered before looking over to Loki. "Really, Loki, after all the other things I found out about you, and accepted, did you really think I wouldn't accept this?" At Frigga's chuckle Adrette rolled her eyes. "You aren't getting rid of me Loki until you say you want to be rid of me. That's the rules of our relationship," She reminded Loki.

Harry, who had begun shaking like a leaf again at the sight of the cat girl, stopped as he heard what Loki said, "G-g-grand f-f-father?" he asked quietly in shock. He then flinched violently as everyone turned their attentions back to him.

Adrette gave Loki a look of disbelief. "You didn't even tell the boy that you were his grandfather?"

"To be fair to my son, he has been in shock at the news," Frigga explained with a wry smile.

Adrette shook her head. "Well, that's understandable I guess," She then smiled at Harry. "Don't you worry little one, we're gonna get your injuries healed up," She told Harry.

Harry nodded, "Y-you won't s-s-send me back to the D-Dursleys?" he stammered in hopeful fear.

Though Adrette's smile didn't drop her tail stopped moving as the reason for him asking that became clear to the small group. "You will never go back to them ever again," She assured him.

Loki made sure to burn the name _Dursleys_ into his mind so that he could seek them out later and, not only find out how they could be connected to his daughter, but to make them pay for what they did to his grandson. "We will not allow you to go back to them, of that you can be certain," Loki told Harry.

Harry's scared look turned hopeful, before he yawned as his eyes began to droop, "Sleepy," he said as he slowly drifted off in Frigga arms.

Frigga smiled, "Perhaps we should continue on our way to Lady Eir, after all, we need to make sure his injuries are cleaned and healed, then we can figure out, as a group, how to make sure my husband doesn't do something monumentally stupid," Frigga said, reminding Loki of where they were heading before running into Adrette.

"Right, still have to eventually tell father," Loki sighed in resignation.

Adrette looked between the two then smiled. "Loki, as the boy's grandfather, that means you have the power to decide certain things," She began. "Like, for example, if he becomes a ward of a certain princess you know and are soon to be wed too?"

Frigga smiled, "Looking to become the boy's new mother?" Frigga asked with a knowing smirk.

"Loki's family is my family, and I shall do whatever I need to in order to protect that family." Adrette answered, before grinning. "Also that would be pretty weird, my becoming his new mother while marrying his grandfather. Talk about confusing the kid," She chuckled.

Loki smiled, "Well, depending on what we find out about what happened to my daughter, and her obvious husband," he began, "We will see what Harry wants to do when he awakens," he finished.

At that moment, they reached the healing chambers and Lady Eir bustled over to them, "How can I be of-" she began, only to stop at the sight of the injured boy in Frigga's arms. "Allfather preserve us" she swore in shock, "Bring the boy over to the table, immediately," she said as she began scanning the boy with the scanners, as she did, she gave Loki a look, "What happened?" she demanded with obvious anger and outrage shown on her face, and in her voice.

"We're not sure what happened to him," Loki began to explain truthfully. "I found him in my garden like this, and he appears to have been recently injured."

"Loki brought him to me and we brought him here for treatment," Frigga added. "The boy seems to be from Midgard. He did mention a family name and begged us not to return him there."

Lady Eir 'hmmed', before frowning at the results the scanner began to pump out, "Let's see," she began, "Broken right wrist, fractured left ankle, slight concussion, repeated signs of broken ribs and bones, bruises, scars, multiple contusions, teeth marks from some sort of animal, and..." as she spotted the last item, her face morphed into one of absolute horror.

"Lady Eir?" Frigga asked in concern, "What's wrong, what's wrong with my great grandson?" she asked in deep concern, something that touched Loki and made Loki glad he had gone to his mother for help since it was clear she cared for Loki and now also for Harry.

Lady Eir shook her head before turning to Frigga, "Forgive me, my queen," Eir said, "Its just, this last 'injury', is located in the scar on his forehead, its...well, it's a horcrux," Lady Eir finished in a horrified tone.

Loki's eyebrows shot into his hairline at that. "A horcrux! Someone placed a horcrux in my grandson!" he questioned in outrage.

Adrette frowned in confusion. "What's a horcrux?" She asked.

Lady Eir growled in rage, "A horcrux is a horrific piece of Midgardian magic," she said disgustedly, "The creator of the horcrux must perform an unspeakable ritual before committing cold blooded murder on an innocent, this act, which goes against life, causes the soul to fracture and split, the creator then stores that soul fragment in an object, tainting the object in most cases," she replied, "Horcruxes are, in basic terms, soul anchors, that prevent the soul from passing on as its not whole when the creator 'dies'," she continued, "Needless to say, the creators, when their horcruxes are destroyed, are sent to the deepest pits of the afterlife for eternal torture when they pass on," she then looked at Harry sadly, "I can remove the horcrux, but, it will be painful, more so if we leave it in him rather then remove it now," she concluded before taking a deep breath. "If we are to do this, I must have a pure quartz crystal, I leave that for you to find Prince Loki," Eir said seriously, "The crystal will capture the soul fragment, as it must have a container, but, judging by the readings I am getting, its a very small fragment, meaning there is more than one of these horrific things out there," Eir finally concluded.

Loki nodded. "Fortunately I have a pure quartz crystal in my room. I had been planning an experiment with it but this is far more important. I shall return in a moment," Loki turned and ran from the room to get the crystal.

Adrette frowned at what she had heard. To think that someone could create such a horrid magic as this and for it to be used on an innocent child like this really angered her. "If I find the people who did this, they will wish they had been never been born," She growled.

Eir nodded, "The first known person to create a horcrux was a Seidrwho hailed from Greece on Midgard, he created one, as well as discovered the means of birthing Basilisks," she said.

Loki returned in that moment with a quartz crystal the size of his palm. "I trust this will work?" He inquired as he handed the crystal over to Eir. "I have also made contact with Hela and she said that if father will allow her to, she will come and claim the horcrux so that she may search for the other pieces as well as identify the one who created this one."

Adrette looked at Eir, "Would there be any side effects for the boy, from having a horcrux in him?" she asked worriedly.

Eir stopped, and thought about it, "The boy might have some unexplained abilities, depending on the abilities the horcrux maker had, if any," she replied, "For now, yes, Prince Loki, the crystal will do, now, Princess Adrette, Prince Loki, your both going to have to hold down the boy's arms and legs, while I perform a spell to extract the horcrux." She sighed, "It's going to be immensely painful for him," she added, "After all, normally, to destroy a horcrux, you must..." she gulped, having difficulty saying what needed to be said.

"Must what?" Adrette asked before something in her mind clicked. "I hope the bastard who made this accursed bit of magic is suffering the greatest torment in all of creation!" She growled.

"Hela will make him pay," Loki assured, "But what Lady Eir means is, the 'container', of the horcrux must be destroyed beyond repair to destroy the horcrux..." he said sadly.

Eir smiled sadly, "True, but, we're not destroying, were transferring it from one container to another, what Hela does with it is up to her," Eir said, "Now, get ready, and expect him to scream in pain..." she finished with a worried look as she began to chant in ancient Asgardian.

As the chanting began, Harry, slowly began to squirm and then began to whimper in pain. After about two minutes, he began to sob, crying out in pain as a black inky like substance began to be extracted from the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. As the substance was extracted, it began to take on a hideous face of some deformed snake man with red eyes and a slitted nostril nose.

"_Fools, who are you to think you can defeat Lord Voldemort_!" the voiced hissed in rage at being extracted, "_I will kill the boy if you do not stop_!" it hissed more urgently as it saw the pure quartz crystal that it was being pulled towards.

"Don't let go!" Frigga commanded, as Harry began to scream in pain and violently struggle from the pain.

Lady Eir began to chant faster as soon as there was no more inky black ooze coming from the scar, only a small amount of blood around the edges of the lightning bolt. Then, with a magical pulse, that went through the walls, the horcrux was sucked into the quartz crystal like a vacuum had been turned on it.

"_Foolish mortals_!" the voice hissed in defiance as it disappeared into the crystal, which had turned black, with only its carved faceted edges indicating it was a crystal at all.

Her job done, Eir slumped and began to pant as she stopped chanting, "Damn, that soul, while obviously a Midgardian, was clearly dark, twisted, and powerful!" she panted tiredly.

Adrette carefully gathered Harry up in her arms and ran her fingers through his hair softly. "It's okay now little one, it's all over. That horrible _thing_ is gone now and all that's left is for Lady Eir to heal your injuries and then I'll make sure that you get placed in a nice comfy bed to get some sleep and when you wake up we'll have a nice meal together, just you, me, and your grandfather Loki," She promised him.

Frigga smiled at how caring and gentle Adrette was being with Harry. Clearly she would be a wonderful mother when the time comes. Growing serious, Frigga turned to Loki. "We should leave Harry in the care of Lady Eir and Adrette for now so that he can heal and get some rest. While they look after him we should go and speak to your father about him. And you still have to make a choice if you allow Adrette to have Harry as her ward," She reminded Loki of Adrette's suggestion to protect Harry from any fall out from Odin learning of Harry.

Loki gulped, "I think Adrette taking Harry as her ward is a wonderful idea, he will need a mother figure in his life after all," he smiled, "Now, let's go...inform, father of the new 'Prince' of Asgard," he sighed.

Lady Eir immediately began the process of healing Harry's multitude of injuries.

**~w~**

**~Royal chambers with Kings Esegar and Odin~**

Odin and Esegar had just sat down with the intention of sharing some stories from their youth when a guard came in and announced that Loki and Frigga wished to talk with Odin urgently.

Odin sighed, and told the guard he would see them immediately. The guard nodded and left, returning a few minutes later with a stone faced Loki and a frowning Frigga.

"Yes Loki, Frigga my love, what can I do for you?" Odin asked curiously, he was wondering privately if it had anything to do with the pulse of magic he had felt, as it had been quite dark in nature.

Frigga gave Loki an expectant look, as this was his matter to speak about.

Loki gave a sigh when he caught his mother's eye and saw that she wasn't going to do the talking for him. Taking a deep breath Loki began to speak. "Father, there is an important matter I need to inform you of. However I ask that you allow me to fully speak my piece before you say anything about it. Will you grant me this?" Loki asked, knowing it best to make Odin agree to this before starts telling him about Harry or else they could be there all night.

Odin looked at Loki for a moment, before looking to Frigga, who shot Odin a pointed look, to which Odin gulped, he knew _that_ look, as such, he nodded to Loki and sat there, all ears to hear what his youngest had to say.

Taking another breath Loki began, "I have been keeping a secret from you and mother for a great many years now. That secret being that I had been sneaking to Midgard to be with a woman there," Realizing how this sounded Loki quickly added, "This was long before Taerelyn sought to rejoin the realms." Hoping that explained how this wasn't something recent he continued. "I married this woman on Midgard and together we had a daughter. I was scared to tell you about my wife and daughter, given what has happened to my children in the past However my mortal wife encouraged me to try for the sake of my new family. I agreed, but only after I had readied a place for them in my chambers." Now Loki was at the painful part. "Once I had completed the preparations, a feat that took a few years due to my wish to kept it a secret, I went to fetch my mortal family, only to learn the home they had lived in on Midgard had burnt down and, as I had been told, there were no survivors. I returned to Asgard heartbroken and told not a soul about what had happened." And now came the part that Loki was dreading.

"I had thought my mortal family was dead, however, as I have just learned, that was not the case. My daughter survived and, though I know not what fate has done to her, I know that she had a son. I know this to be true because her son has found his way to Asgard." Loki forced himself to look Odin in the eyes as he spoke. "The boy, Harry, was in horrible shape, clearly a victim of abuse. He spoke of a family called _Dursleys_but has said no more on them. He is, at this time, with Lady Eir, being healed, and with Adrette, whom I have asked to take Harry in as her ward." Loki could see the surprise in Odin's eyes at the mention of Adrette having Loki's grandson as a ward, but he pressed on. "You might have noticed the pulse of dark magic a short moment ago. It seems someone on Midgard was creating horcruxes and one found itself in Harry. We've extracted it and I would like your permission to give the crystal now holding it to Hela, so that she might deal with it and find any other pieces on Midgard. I also would like to ask permission to pay these…_Dursleys_, a visit, so that I might learn how my grandson came to be in their hands, the fate of my daughter, and most of all, why they allowed my grandson to end up in such a state, provided, that is, that they are not the cause of his injuries," Loki finished, not once letting his eyes leave Odin's in the hopes of conveying just how important this was to him.

Odin looked at Loki for a moment, his mind running a mile a minute, then, he looked to Frigga, who shot him a piercing and knowing look, then he noticed out of the corner of his eye King Esegar eyeing him with a calculative look. Deciding to do something right for once by Loki's children, or, in this case, grandson, Odin finally spoke. "Loki, while I wish you had confided in me you had more children earlier, what's done is done, now, it's time I finally did right by you, and as such, we will grant Harry his heritage he is due as a prince of Asgard," Odin spoke slowly, surprising Loki with his words, "What's more, you have my permission to go to Midgard to ascertain what happened to our new prince, however, we cannot announce he is a prince, as such, go with the cover that Ardette took him in from a noble family that resides outside of Asgard, finer details can be worked out later, eventually, we will announce his heritage, but only when the time is right, agreed?" Odin concluded hopefully.

Loki was surprised that Odin was agreeing to let Harry stay, though part of that could be because of Esegar watching so closely and Adrette taking Harry as her ward. It wasn't like Odin could do anything now that Adrette was taking Harry under her wing anyway. "Thank you, father, I am fine with keeping Harry's identity a secret for now. Though what of my request for Hela to take the crystal that now houses the horcrux, and use it to find and destroy any other pieces on Midgard?" Loki asked, already feeling a little lighter now that that fear had been put to rest.

Odin nodded, "It shall be done," Odin agreed, "After all, by attacking a Prince of Asgard, they have attacked Asgard, and thus become its enemy!" Odin said, banging his fist against his chair's arm rest angrily.

Frigga smiled, proud that Odin had decided to side with Loki on this matter, perhaps there was hope to mend the rift that had been growing between Loki and Odin after all.

Odin then turned to Loki again, "Please keep me updated on Harry's healing and progress Loki, my son," Odin said, saying the words he rarely ever said to Loki.

Then, Frigga smiled, "So, whose going to tell Thor of his grandnephew?" she asked, causing Odin to sigh and Loki's eyes to widen.

"I think it's a little soon to be introducing Harry to Thor," Loki could just imagine how poorly Harry, the abused child that he is, would react to the overly excited and loud mountain of a man that is Thor. "At least give the boy a day of peace to feel comfortable here in Asgard before bringing Thor to meet him," He reasoned.

**~w~**

**~With Eir, Adrette, and Harry~**

As Harry was healed, and Adrette kept an eye on him, Lady Eir suddenly gasped at what she was seeing on the readings of Harry she was getting.

Adrette frowned. "Don't tell me you found something else wrong with him?" Adrette's heart already ached for Harry enough as it is, she didn't want to hear that anything else was wrong with him.

Lady Eir shook her head, "No, nothing like that, it's just, something unusual," she replied, Then Eir did a double take, "Wait, his DNA is unusual," Eir continued, "There is mortal, Aesir, and something else..." she trailed off as she attempted to do a deep scan of Harry's DNA.

"Something else?" Adrette questioned, not able to see the screen from her angle and not wanting to move from Harry's side.

Eir nodded absent mindedly before gasping as she got the results of the deep scan, "I have to take this to Odin..." Eir said as she turned off the screen and rushed out of the healing chamber to find Odin, walking with purpose and clearly defined worry.

Adrette stared after the head healer in surprise and confusion before looking between Harry and the door Eir had just left through. "So...is he fully healed or not?" She asked no one, not sure if she was okay to take Harry to her room and set him to bed or not.

Eir made her way to Odin and banged on his door, and was surprized when Loki answered the door. "Prince Loki," she bowed her head politely, "I must speak with Odin about the boy, and his DNA," she said urgently.

"Has something happened with Harry?" Loki questioned as he moved to one side to allow her in. Odin had already agreed to let Harry stay with Adrette and as she was to marry him that would mean that Harry would stay with him. Nothing could ruin things with Harry now.

When Eir entered the room, she turned to Odin and said, "My king, I was examing the boy's DNA when I did a deep scan and what I found was-" she was suddenly cut off as Odin grew serious.

"Everyone out except for Frigga and Lady Eir!" Odin commanded seriously.

Loki frowned at that. "He is my grandson, and I have a _right_ to know if anything is amiss with him!" He protested.

Esegar however got to his feet. "Well, as this is a matter for your family, at this time, I shall go find Vren and meet this boy that shall be also joining my family," Esegar said before giving each person in the room a friendly nod and then leaving. If this new matter was important enough, he was certain Loki would tell Adrette about it and, if she deemed it important enough for them to know, then Adrette would tell them. Right now, however he wanted to meet this boy and welcome him as warmly as he could so that he would know he can trust them.

Odin glared at Loki before finally relenting, "Very well, you may stay, for now," Odin sighed. Once Esegar left the room, Odin turned to Lady Eir, "Now, Lady Eir, what did you discover?" he asked with a slightly weary tone, as he had a feeling he knew what this was about, but didn't show he knew, just that he was weary.

Eir nodded before clearing her throat, "I was doing a scan for injuries, as well as a standard scan of his DNA, when it detected something 'off' about his DNA. So I decided to do a deep scan," she paused, "What I found was...Jotunn DNA, my king," Eir finished.

Frigga cast Odin a look at that, wondering just what he planned to do now that such a hint towards Loki's true origins had just been revealed. Would he do the right thing and tell the truth now?

Loki stared in shock at Eir. Jotunn DNA found within his grandson? How could that be? The Jotunn had not stepped foot on Midgard since Loki's birth, so how could Harry possess such DNA?

Odin closed his eyes, and thought how to explain this best, then an idea came to him, "Perhaps one of the boy's father's ancestors was raped by a Jotunn in the past?" he suggested seeing Loki's eyes widen at that, as the Jotunns were considered the 'monsters' of Asgardian tales, it was not so hard to beleive that some might have taken advantage of Midgardians in the distant past.

Frigga did her best to keep her face from showing how angry she was at Odin for that, but made sure to let her eyes scream just how much she was disappointed in him for deciding to lie to Loki.

Loki was truly beginning to wonder if his children, and by relation their children, would always be cursed to suffer like this. If word of that Jotunn DNA were to reach the public, Loki wasn't sure if Adrette could protect Harry from the backlash that would happen. "I-I see..." Loki mumbled in shock before taking a deep breath to steady himself. "No one can know about this then. We have to make sure about it," Loki turned to his father. "I shall leave that to you as I must give the crystal holding the horcrux to Hela and then pay a visit to the mortal family my grandson is so fearful of." Loki did not even bother to bow, he just turned on his heels and left the room.

Once Loki was gone, Odin turned to Eir, "Any mention of young Harry having Jotunn blood and heritage is to be sealed and hidden by my express order, if I hear anyone talking about it, they will be punished, is that understood, Lady Eir?" Odin commanded.

Eir knew a cover up when she heard one, but obeyed her king all the same, "Of course my king," Eir said, bowing, "I must return to Prince Harry and Princess Adrette now, if I may?" she said, and Odin waved for her to go.

Once Eir was gone, Frigga rounded on her husband. "Of all the low life things you have done, this is without a doubt one of your worse!" She growled, "You could have spared Loki the pain of that lie by telling him the truth, if not about himself, then about you at the very least! At least if you had told himself about yourself, then perhaps when the time comes that he learns the truth of himself he will not feel so betrayed."

Odin sighed, "I know not telling him his true parentage is wrong, but he's my son, I will spare him the pain of being viewed as a monster as much as I can!" Odin countered angrily, then he sagged, "It's bad enough I followed through with those prophecies of Ragnarok and basically ensured that it will happen..." he sighed.

"Had you admitted to your own Jotunn heritage, then perhaps he wouldn't end up viewed as such! Also who is it who allows for the horror stories of the Jotunn to continue to be told throughout Asgard? Who is it whose idea of peace with the Jotunns is to have no contact with them since the war and allow his people to continue to see them as not but monsters? You can have done so much to mend the rift between the Jotunn and our people since the war, and yet you did not. In fact, you raised our sons on those same stories that paint the Jotunn as monsters! So if Loki does end up viewed as a monster, and in pain when the truth comes out about him, it shall be no one's fault but your own," Frigga warned.

Odin sighed as he watched his wife leave the room in an angry huff. She was right of course, she usually was, but he was doing what was best for everyone, at least in his mind anyway.

**~w~**

**~With Adrette and Harry~**

As Harry slept, his injuries healed, he was experiencing various dreams when suddenly a terrible nightmare surfaced. It started pleasantly enough with him meeting a man who claimed to be his grandfather, when, suddenly, the dream changed horrifically when the man said he didn't want his grandson and was sending him back to the Dursleys. At that point, everything turned horrific as Harry began to twist and turn in his sleep, whimpering in fear as his heart rate spiked as he tried to run away from the frightening and monstrous forms of the Dursleys, twisted by his fears, tormenting him relentlessly.

Adrette, having not left his side after she put him to bed, began to try to comfort him in the hopes of soothing his nightmare back into a dream. "Shhh, you're safe Harry. You're safe here with me and I won't let anyone hurt you." She whispered to him as she lightly ran her fingers through his hair.

"M-mommy..." Harry whimpered in the most heart breaking tone imaginable, and just as his nightmares usually did, it turned to his first memory of cold, high pitched laughter, and then, a woman's scream followed by a bright, sickening green flash of light, and with it Harry jolted awake and sat up in obvious panic, looking around with fearful eyes. When he spotted Adrette, he whimpered, not recognising her right away as he cringed and leapt off the bed and huddled in a corner of the room, trying to make himself as small as possible. "Please, don't hurt me!" he begged in a frightened voice, "Don't tell Vernon!" he added.

Adrettte slowly stood from the bed with her hands raised to show she wasn't holding anything. In moment's like this, it's best to treat the person like a scared animal and go slowly. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one, and this 'Vernon' person is never going to see you again. You're safe, in Asgard, remember? Your grandfather, Loki, found you and had your wounds healed before leaving you in my care while he speaks with your great grandfather," Adrette then smiled, making sure not to show any fangs in it. "My name is Adrette Angelles and I'm...well, let's just say I'm a very dear person to your grandfather." She wasn't going to mention the upcoming wedding just yet, after all the boy was scared and that wasn't something that would help him relax. "Are you hungry? I can have some food brought to us and we can enjoy a snack together," She offered to him.

Harry sniffled as he managed to stop crying, having started when he thought he would be punished for being on a proper bed, "Y-you're not g-going to hurt m-me?" Harry whimpered, scared that it was a lie to get him to drop his guard, after all, it wouldn't be the first time.

"I would no sooner hurt you then I would myself, also, your grandfather would never forgive me if I allowed you to be hurt again," She told him before lightly patting the bed. "You can come back to the bed if you want. I'm going to get someone to get us some snacks, I won't go far," She assured him before walking over to the door and waving down the first servant she saw.

Harry cautiously walked back to the bed before struggling to get on as it was a little high for him. When he finally managed to get on, Lady Eir had returned and noticed something she had missed before.

Eir bent down and softly smiled at Harry, "So your awake," she smiled, "My name is Eir, or Lady Eir, if you prefer, I'm a healer, the one who healed your injuries," she added, "What's your name little one?" she asked softly.

"H-Harry..." Harry shyly replied to the pretty lady.

"How old are you Harry?" Eir asked curiously.

Harry cocked his head to the side before thinking hard, then held up his hand, "Five!" he said proudly.

Eir was raging inside, Harry didn't look five, at best, he looked like a three year old in terms of height, and she would have to put him on a malnourishment treatment plan. As such, she walked over to a shelf of bottles and pulled out a bottle with orange liquid in it, then brought it over to Harry. "Harry, could you please drink this?" She asked politely, smiling as she handed him the potion.

Harry eyed it curiously, but nodded, when he sniffed it, it didn't smell too bad, and, he was thirsty too, so he chugged it down, after he finished he made a face at its awful taste.

Eir, seeing his face, giggled a bit, "Sorry about that Harry, it was a nutrient potion, you're going to have to take them for a while," she said as Adrette returned with a servant carrying a big tray of snacks.

"Going to have to take what for a while?" Adrette asked as she and the servant set the tray of snacks down on the bed. "Go ahead and eat as much as you want little one. I'm just going to speak with Lady Eir for a moment." Adrette had a feeling whatever Eir had been saying to Harry was going to cause her to lose her cool, so she felt it best to get some space between her and Harry so as not to scare him.

As Harry began to eat, he found himself eating far more then he thought he could, or should, be able to eat, and he felt more hungry then he could ever remember being.

As Harry ate, Eir took Adrette to the other side of the room. Once they were out of Harry's hearing range, Eir spoke. "I noticed Harry seemed a bit small, so I asked him how old he is, and he told me, he's five years old, Adrette, he looks like he is three!" she said in anguish for the boy, "I gave him a nutrients potion, he will have to take them every day for the next few months..." she finished sadly.

Adrette's hands balled into tight fist at that. "On Taerelyn, when someone is caught mistreating a child, they are normally punished by having done to them what they did to the child. However, it is a miracle any child could survive the kind of treatment that would lead to this, and yet still I feel those bastards would be getting off too lightly." She then took a breath and tried to reign in her anger. "I can only hope that Loki sees to it they, and whoever was foolish enough to leave a child in the care of those bastards, pay dearly for this."

Lady Eir nodded in agreement with Adrette, she wasn't normally the vindictive sort, but this, all of his injuries, it was a miracle Harry wasn't worse off than he was.

**~w~**

**~An: Ogremen: Was it worth the wait? lol Is it more detailed, well written, more thought out, can anyone guess why we did what we did for the rewrite? Let us know your thoughts in the Reviews! Now, we want to remind everyone, at this point in time, Harry is an ABUSED, FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD! That means the Dursleys didn't want him speaking properly, they didn't feed him enough, they would beat him, and more! Thank you for understanding, expect more teary eyed insights into Harry's time with the Dursleys in future chapters. Oh, and we still plan to make Sif a 'bad guy' in this story, just like in the original. And now, I have said my piece, and am going to pass the 'mic' to Oracle, ok?**

**Oracle: ****Well there you go. To everyone who was voting no rewrite we are sorry but majority won in the end and we had fumbled so much with the original that we had little choice but to start fresh. Though we hope the rewrite will be just as enjoyable for you and that you like the changes we make. Please feel free to tell us how you feel and what you think works or doesn't work. Oh and yes, we are going to bash some people but we will try to keep it toned down. *looks pointedly at Ogremen* We've heard the complaints about that and are going to do our best not to be so heavy handed.**


	5. Loki's Investigation

**AN: Ogremen: Well, here you have it folks, another chapter, we hope you enjoy it! Anyway, now for a word from the Mistress of Chronicles, Oracle!**

**Oracle: Been a bit of a rough time writing wise. I won't clog up the start of this with the details, you'll find those at the bottom. For now I'll just get out of your way and give the usual reminder. Please give us feedback, we really don't know if you are enjoying it unless you speak up.**

**~w~**

**~Midgard, London, England~**

Loki sighed as he made his way to where he recalled where Old Goblin Town used to be, as he did, he noticed people staring at him as if he was crazy. That was when he realised he had traveled to Midgard in his armor from Asgard, not exactly the most 'fitting in' of attire for this 'Modern' Midgard. So, with a wave of his hand, he turned his armor into a dark emerald green suit with gold highlights, uncaring of those who had seen him do so. As he approached the section of the ally where it diverged into two streets, he saw it, the massive white building guarded by two Goblin warriors. Goblins had always favored Loki for leadership and his cunning in times of old, so he was hoping that they still remembered the favors he had granted them in the past as some of his biggest patrons in the old days.

Loki approached the building and loudly declared to the guards, "Noble Goblins," he began, immediately causing the two guards to stand up straighter and pay more attention, "My name is Loki," he continued, "I wish to speak to your leader or leaders, may I enter your hallowed halls to discuss business?" He then up an old, worn, and gnarly looking key made out of what looked like a mixture of wood and iron. The key caused the two Goblins to look up with a start at the sight of the old style bank key that Gringotts had long since replaced with more modern keys some centuries ago.

The two guards looked at one another for a moment before one of them spoke up, "One moment sir," the guard on the right said before he entered the building. He was gone for about ten minutes before he returned with a Goblin who was in an elaborate and exquisite Goblin styled suit. The Goblin in the suit was not amused, at least from the look on his face, "Be welcome, Loki, please, step inside so we might discuss things privately?" the old Goblin said as politely as he could.

Loki tucked his key back into his pocket, knowing that anyone that might had spotted the exchange between him and the Goblins wouldn't fully understand what was going on, and thus not be able to work out who he is. He followed the Goblin into the building, taking note of the changes that it had undergone in the years since he'd last been to Midgard. "Much has changed since last I was here. Your people have clearly thrived despite how many attempt to treat you. It is good to see the Goblin people still stand strong against these foolish humans," Loki commented, remembering all too well just how often the wizarding world seemed to try to control and 'tame' the Goblins.

The Goblin leader led Loki to a big office, as soon as the doors closed, a privacy ward dropped into place around the room and the old Goblin looked at Loki sharply, "How did you get that key, human?" the old Goblin asked sharply.

Loki raised a brow at the question. "You know as well as I do that these keys can not be held by any but whom they were given to unless inherited. The ancient magics still hold strong in this building I trust?" He inquired.

The old Goblin frowned, "No, I don't know, after the Asgardians left, and our Patron, your namesake, left with them, the Wizards attacked this place, in what is celebrated as 'the First Goblin Rebellion," the old Goblin replied, "Much was lost, like the forging of our original bank keys," the old Goblin continued, "All of the originals were feared lost," the Goblin finished.

Loki sighed in annoyance. "I had a feeling they would. Would that I had been able to stay during that time I would have ensured their failure. However, as I could not, allow me to grant your people this," Loki paused to take out an old, well weathered, worn leather book. "Lost knowledge that I am certain your people will enjoy putting to use against those foolish wand waving children," Loki smiled as he handed the book to the Goblin leader.

The old Goblin frowned before reading the title, "'Goblin Magics and Religious Practices'," the old Goblin read, "This is a mighty gift, returned to us, and begs many questions," the Goblin said before pausing, "Just who are you exactly?" he asked cautiously.

Loki smiled at the old Goblin. "I am exactly whom I say I am, however it seems that there may have been others bearing my name that have passed through these halls. How amusing that is. Would that I had the time to entertain the thought, but I have important business." Loki allowed his clothes to change into his Agardians ones, the ones he normally reserves for trade meetings or when his father wants the family to appear impressive for some visiting nobles or some such. "I am Loki Odinson, and I have great need of aid from the Goblin people for I have learned mere hours ago that I have been slighted," Loki explained.

The old Goblin winced as he realised he might have been rude to their patron, "F-forgive me My Lord," the Goblin said, "I am King Ragnok, descendant of your good friend, Nurnar, may she rest in peace," Ragnok said, "For this boon of Lost Knowledge, we are in your debt, what may we do to begin to repay this debt of unimaginable magnitude?" he asked cautiously. Then he remembered what Loki had said, "And, if I may, who has slighted 'He Who Rules through Shadows'?" Ragnok asked, using Loki's first name the Goblins had for him.

"Many years ago, I snuck down to Midgard and, over time, I found myself marrying a mortal woman. I was happy and in time she birthed me a daughter. Yet while I was away readying Asgard for my new family, a fire claimed the life of my wife and, at the time, I thought my daughter was also lost to me," Loki began explaining. "However, a mere few hours ago found myself face to face with my once thought dead daughter's son, my grandson. Somehow, my daughter survived, and yet I was not notified of this. What is more, the state my grandson was in when I discovered him suggests that someone has taken great enjoyment in his suffering. What I want from you, is all the information you have in connections to the boy known as 'Harry Potter'." Loki had decided not to drag this explanation out too long. After all, Odin could decide at any moment that Loki had spent enough time looking into this and thus force him back to Asgard with only half the answers Loki seeks.

At first, Ragnok had widened his eyes when he heard the tale of what happened to Loki's wife and daughter, but when he heard the name Harry Potter, he realised that the Dark Lord, who was still alive as his soul flame at the bank had not faded, had royally fucked up. "D-did you say H-Harry Potter?" Ragnok asked cautiously, now hoping he had heard wrong.

Loki tilted his head, surprised to hear Ragnok stutter like so. "That is the name my grandson gave me when I asked for his name and he did not lie. Why did you stutter just now?" Whatever could make a Goblin, much less the king of the Goblins stutter had to be both big and bad. Loki kind of wished he had brought some of his serrated daggers now.

Ragnok sighed, and ran a hand over his ears in a sign of exasperation. "Harry Potter is the name of the Boy Who Lived, who, a little over four years ago, survived an attack by a Dark Lord who was known for throwing Killing Curses around like candy," Ragnok began, "Eventually, he targeted the Potters, Lord James Charlus Fleamont Potter, and his wife, Lily Potter nee Evans," Ragnok continued, "I should add that while it was most likely something the mother did, all of the fame and appreciation for the Dark Lords defeat went to young Harry, who was known to be just over a year old at the time," Ragnok finished. He then sighed as he said, "No one knows where he is, but it is reported that one Albus Dumbledore always reported he was safe and loved, but if your telling the boy was in fact injured, then it means Dumbledore has lied for four years and that much of what the magical world believes to be true, is, in fact, false."

Loki frowned at that. "Injured is an understatement given the state my grandson is currently in. There seemed to be no end to the list of injuries to his body never mind the clear mental torment he has endured," Loki growled. "I know not what this 'Dumbledore's' game was, but if he knew, even the smallest details of what Harry has been through then he has made a very deadly enemy this day," Loki said darkly. "Now, tell me everything you know and spare no details."

Ragnok gulped, "What I know is limited, but I know the boy's godfather was imprisoned without a trial-" he was about to continue when Loki cut him off.

"Without trial?! That is a violation of the most basic wizarding rights set down by myself and the founders of their whole system!" Loki was outraged that something like had happened, having thought better of the wizarding legal systems, though perhaps after learning what had been done to Harry he should've known better. "I want the names of everyone involved, dead or alive! I want to know every person in power that I need to speak to regarding this, and what is more, I want to know how to contact this Dumbledore, he has much to answer for," Loki listed.

Ragnok laughed, "That was just what I was getting to, shortly after, very shortly mind you, after Sirius Black was arrested, Dumbledore insinuated that he was the boy's Magical Guardian due to there being no one else, that we knew of, of course, my lord," Ragnok replied, "The current minister for magic, a position that replaced the Magic Council's head position, is a coward, and one who frequently takes 'gifts' from some of the old families, most of whom we are certain are tied to dark magic, and he is also a man who seeks the public opinion, making him a self-serving individual, his undersecretary is a toad of a woman, and one we Goblins would love to see burned," Ragnok continued. "And finally, the only person in the Ministry we trust, is one Amelia Bones, current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the successor to the Magic Councils Enforcer Squad," Ragnok concluded.

"And who was it who sentenced Sirius Black without trial?" Loki questioned. "Also on what grounds was he arrested?" Loki needed every detail he could arm himself with before he stormed the Ministry to put things right. If need be he would burn the ministry to the ground and reinstate the old ways should he find what remains of the ministry after his gutting of the corruption less than satisfactory.

Ragnok smiled darkly, "The one who 'sentenced' him, was one Bartimus Crouch Senior, who at the time, was the then head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Ragnok replied, "Backing him at the time was then minister for magic Millicent Bagnold," Ragnok continued, "As for the evidence, 'Apparent Admittance of Guilt' at the scene of the apparent crime of killing his best friend, Peter Pettigrew, who, moments before an explosion, accused that Sirius was the one who sold out your daughter, her husband, and young Harry Potter to Lord Voldemort, the dark lord who went after young Harry, however, we know Pettigrew is still alive as his soul flame has yet to extinguish itself," Ragnok concluded.

Loki made a mental note to set Heimdal to the task of finding this Pettigrew. The innocent have no need to hide for so many years under the cover of death after all. "Admittance of guilt at the scene huh? How often I have heard such claims only for it to turn out the accused never admitted any such things." Loki sneered. "All that tells me is that those people wanted to simply claim someone guilty and move on. That is not the justice my daughter and her husband deserved!" Loki summoned a chair for himself and sat down, trying his hardest to calm the rage growing inside him. There was much to do and he was willing to bet he wasn't even half way through compiling the list he would need to see through before being called back to Asgard. And he hadn't even yet gotten to the relatives that Harry had been placed with just yet. "You said that none but Dumbledore knew where Harry was placed?"

Ragnok shrugged, "There is the rumor he was placed with his mother's sister, though, given that you claim Lily was your daughter, it would mean he was placed with his mother's adopted sister's family, all we know is that your daughter's adoptive sister was named Petunia Evans, at least as a child, now, we don't know, you would have to confront Albus Dumbledore on his 'home turf', Hogwarts Castle," Ragnok replied.

Loki smirked at the thought of going to the old school, feeling it's magic's bend when faced with his own power but brushed it aside. "As fun as that would be, I believe a more...public spectacle is in order. If he was able to force himself to be a magical guardian without being legally named then he most certainly has a number of 'skeletons in his closet' that the public has turned a blind eye towards." Loki then chuckled, "Exposure for what he is, and what he has done, I think is the better choice. I shall need people to carefully pick apart every moment of his life, every choice, every person he's interacted with, learn all his dark little secrets. Only then shall I face him, after all, a man who has done what he has should be thoroughly destroyed."

Ragnok smiled a feral Goblin grin, "Of course, my lord, I entirely agree," the Goblin king said, "After all, thanks to him, we lost a lot of rights when he voted in favor of a bill that would curtail our rights as a magical race that was 'inferior to true magical beings'," Ragnok finished angrily.

Loki snorted at the idea of the goblins being inferior to wizards. "They've truly grow delusional since I last walked these streets. Though I'm certain once his crimes come to light, it will take nothing to destroy everything he's built up. Rest assured, things are about to change for the better around here," Loki promised Ragnok.

"Thank you my lord," Ragnok smiled happily at the thought of Dumbledore losing his positions and things he had done, "I should also add that, Amelia was believed to be the boy's godmother, so getting in contact with her is advised, we can even arrange a meeting for you, if you are interested, my lord?" Ragnok added.

"The current head of magical law enforcement is the godmother of my grandson?" Loki asked in surprise before smiling. "Oh now that is perfect. I would be most delighted to meet her before I began to make any moves against the Ministry and Dumbledore." Loki's mind for a moment drifted back to Asgard, wondering how Harry was doing and most importantly how he was getting along with Adrette. He hoped the pair were getting along well as he wanted both by his side. Loki gave himself a mental shake and focused on the present, he had people to punish, crimes to learn about, and what appeared to be a mountain of work ahead of him.

Ragnok chuckled, "It would be an honor to help you crush your enemies, my lord," Ragnok smiled, "Especially when they are our own as well," he added. Then Ragnok began penning a letter to Amelia Bones, being entirely cryptic enough to catch her interest, but not cryptic enough to seem like it was a trap.

**~w~**

**~Madam Bones's office, Head of the DMLE, Ministry of Magic~**

Madam bones sighed as she looked at a picture of her brother in all but blood, James Potter, that sat on her desk. In the picture was also Sirius Black, her former lover, Remus Lupin, a good friend, and Peter Petigrew, the fallen hero responsible for revealing Sirius's treachery.

She kept wondering from time to time if maybe she had missed something in Sirius's character when they had been dating, but she just shook her head and surmised she hadn't known him as well as she thought she had. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a knock on the door of her office. "Come in!" she called exasperatedly, expecting it to be that horrid toad, Deloras Umbridge, or the minister, Cornelius, or even, dare she say it, Lucious Malfoy trying to get her to do something again.

Instead, to her surprise it was her assistant, holding a Gringotts Blakiston's fish owl, reserved for correspondence between others and the highest of command in Gringotts, meaning whatever was being delivered required discretion.

"Um, thank you Neeko," Amelia said awkwardly as she took the letter from the Owl, which then flew off with a big 'woosh' followed by Neeko leaving the room, the owl's departure launching several of her papers into the air, causing her to sigh, she then opened the letter and began to read.

When she finished, she put it down and took a deep breath. She put her wand tip to a device on her desk and said, "Neeko, please cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day, I have to attend to 'family matters'," Amelia said in a commanding voice.

"Of course Madam Bones," Neeko replied before cutting the connection.

Madam Bones then threw some floo powder into the fireplace and said loudly, "Gringott's Receiving Room!" and after the flames turned green, she stepped into the flames and was gone.

**~w~**

**~Gringotts, with Loki and Ragnok; Five minutes later~**

Ragnok smiled as he received notification on his Gringotts work pad that Amelia Bones had arrived. "Lord Loki, Amelia Bones has arrived, and will be here shortly," he said happily.

Loki gave a nod, pleased that she had responded quickly to the letter. That held some promise regarding her. Getting to his feet and dismissing his summoned chair Loki told Ragnok. "I want you to pretend I am not here, I shall hide myself as you speak with her of the matters I have told you. Do not reveal who I am to her, just that I am a lost relative of Harry Potter and have discovered that 'certain people in power' have been neglecting him, leaving him to suffer abusive family members. I want to see her honest reactions to these matters before I make myself known to her!" Loki then headed over to one corner of the room and hid himself out of sight but within hearing distance.

When Amelia stepped into the office, she saw Ragnok and held up the letter, "Alright Hordemaster Ragnok, what's this about?" she asked, "You mention that my godson was 'injured and yet to be found', but that he is in 'safe hands'," she growled.

Ragnok smiled, "My dear Madam Bones," Ragnok replied, "It was made aware to us that one Harry James Potter was abused by his mother's sister's family, and highly possibly by the sister herself as well, he was then promptly removed and found by another family member that, truth be told, was unknown to even us!"

Amelia was about to make a retort, when she paused, "What do you mean a family member unknown to you?" she asked curiously, "Do you mean you found a living family member of Lily's birth family?" she asked. She knew Lily had been adopted by the Evans family because Lily had told her she was adopted, something Lily had kept quiet about for some reason.

Ragnok smiled, "Indeed, and it seems they have been doing an investigation of their own into what has been happening with our dear Boy Who Lived," Ragnok sighed with a pained smile.

Amelia nodded and sat down in a chair that was very small and clearly meant for tall Goblins, "And what has their investigation revealed?" she asked cautiously.

"That Albus Dumbledore," Ragnok began, "Has been abusing his 'supposed' position of magical guardian of one Harry James Potter to break several laws," Ragnok continued, "On top of that, with his new magical guardians permissions we will be launching a full investigation into Dumbledore's financial decisions regarding the Potter Boy's family accounts, and anyone connected to them, on top of that, the Last Will and Testament of one James and Lily Potter will be made public once the current magical guardian has brought one Harry James Potter to our bank for authentication," he added this last point for Loki to hear in a pointed manner, "And finally, we suspect that Milicent Bagnold, Bartimus Crouch Senior, and Albus Dumbledore, were all complicit in the illegal arrest and sending of one Sirius Orion Black to Azkaban Prison without trial, and will be beseeching you to do a proper investigation!" Ragnok finished.

Amelia winced, "I assure you, now that I am head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Sirius Black will get his just rewards," she assured Ragnok, "What's more, it would be nice to finally be allowed to see my godson, Merlin knows that Dumbledore always refused to let me anywhere near the boy, but never gave a concrete reason for why," she finished sadly.

While Loki was pleased to see Amelia seemed concerned for Harry, he still wasn't sure if she could be trusted. So, to help aid Ragnok in showing just how much she truly cares he made one of the blank sheets of parchment fill up with a short list of some of the injuries that Lady Eir had found Harry to be suffering from.

Ragnok, detecting the bit of Asgardian magic, held up the paper, "I forgot to mention, that the new magical guardian of Harry James Potter, provided a list of some of his injuries," Ragnok began before sliding the paper across his desk to Amelia, "That Harry had, both new, and old," Ragnok finished.

Amelia took the paper and began to read, as she did, she could be heard grinding her teeth as she made her way down the list, by the time she finished, she was shaking with uncontrollable rage. "This is some of his injuries?" she asked dangerously low, "I will, of course, need to speak to the new magical guardian of Harry James Potter to get the complete list to be able to investigate fully," she began, "And then, once I have uncovered the evidence, I can make the bastard abusers pay," Amelia said, dipping a bit into the heritage she and one Minerva McGonagall both shared by adding some Scottish burs to her words under her breath at the end. **(Mini AN: from Oracle: Use your imagination as to what Amelia is saying because we aren't trusting the translate tools we've found anymore!)**

Having seen Amelia's anger at the list, and seeing that it's true anger towards those responsible, Loki silently stepped forward until he was right behind her. "Oh, we are going to get along splendidly," Loki commented, making Amelia jump and turn to face him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Loki, Harry's grandfather on his mother's side, and Lily's true father."

Amelia was about to draw her wand on him when he spoke, and almost still did when he mentioned being the grandfather of the Boy Who Lived, until he mentioned being Lily's father too, that last part gave her pause. "You look too young to be either..." she replied flatly.

Loki chuckled at that. "Oh if only you knew," He said with a shake of his head. "However I fear I must keep my little…'secret'...regarding how I still look so young for now. I don't wish to 'tip off' our enemies any warning before their crimes are uncovered you see," Loki told her before waving to Ragnok. "If you need to verify that I am related to dear Lily, I am certain Ragnok can help with that, and that you understand why we need to be careful, given the list of things done to Harry."

Amelia narrowed her eyes, "Your name, what's your name?" she asked curiously, not giving away anything but curiosity.

"As I said before, my name is Loki, and that is all you shall get from me regarding that until after we ready to strike at Dumbledore, and any other who is accountable for the suffering of my grandson," Loki told her. "I shall need to return home to speak with the healer who is tending to Harry to gain the full list of injuries, as the list you read is purely from memory. I fear there is far more on the full list then I could stomach remembering," Loki warned her. "Before you ask, I left Harry with my soon to be wife and the rest of my family, though I do hope my brother is being kept away. He can be a little...too much, even for those who are prepared for him, you see, and Harry most certainly does not need that at this moment in time."

Amelia smirked, "So, your not human, Lily always figured as much from what she could remember of the stories her mother told her, her birth mother I mean, not to mention, as I am sure Hordemaster Ragnok may recall, Lily was incredibly smart, and as such, it would not be a stretch she would learn how to perform a heritage test of her own." Here Amelia paused, "Though, all she would tell me of what she found out was that, her father was, indeed, not human, and that his name, was 'Loki'," Amelia finished.

Loki blinked in surprise at that, looking between Amelia and the amused Ragnok a few times before smiling. "So, she did inherit my mind, and from what few images I have managed to find she gained her mother's looks," Loki said with pride. "How I wish I could've seen her grow up," He sighed, "Least I can ensure her son has a better future." Loki then focused, "I shall be sure to bring him to you once I know it is safe to do so. After all, at this time, those who might try to steal him back still walk free."

Amelia nodded, "I do have pictures of me and Lily, even our friends, and James, if your interested, but for now, how about we get to planning so we can figure out a plan of attack?" Amelia replied.

"Ragnok has already provided me with a few names who were involved with what happened to both Lily and Harry. I'm certain they case can serve as a base for your investigations regarding the more magical side of those at fault. I, however, plan to personally visit the family Harry was in the care of once I can get their names and locations," Loki said as he gestured for her to retake her seat and summoned one of his own. "Naturally, this will take time as we don't want to show our hand just yet, but I have every confidence that a woman such as yourself can handle such an investigation with ease."

Amelia nodded, "I can, however, I suggest you reserve judgement of Lily's adopted family until after we have dealt with them through the courts," Amelia suggested, "After all, if something happens to them after their arrested and tried, well, it could be used as an excuse to increase the Auror budget," she smiled.

"Oh I was planning to wait. After all, since Dumbledore placed Harry with them, it would only put him on high alert should something happen to them and Harry not be found amongst them. Best to let that fool think Harry is still with them until it is too late for him to do anything," Loki agreed.

Amelia suddenly started, drawing Loki's attention, "I just remembered, how could I have forgotten!" she seemed shocked by whatever she had remembered, "When Lily performed her heritage test, it revealed she had one other blood relative, a Darcy Lewis, that is, if I remember her name right..." she said, "Lily told me the heritage test revealed that this Darcy was a half-sister, but that's all it revealed," Amelia finished.

Loki blinked in confusion at that, trying to recall when he could have had another child after Lily. "Darcy? That can't be possible I've never had the chance to even hav-" Loki cut himself off as a memory came back to him. "Norns damn you Thor!" He growled.

Ragnok chuckled while Amelia seemed uncertain of how to react properly.

Ragnok then spoke up, "Seems you are the old Loki of myth," Ragnok said, "We have numerous Goblins who claim to also be related to you through ancestors..." he finished, smiling as he saw Loki facepalm into his hands.

**~w~**

**~Asgard; With Harry and Adrette~**

Harry had been asking Adrette lots of questions since he had calmed down and Loki had left, as such, he was unaware that Adrette was, in fact, both amused, and concerned by just how many questions Harry was asking, some of which were about basic things that should be known to him already, and others, were surprisingly complicated questions which left Harry mispronouncing words. The one question that Adrette was left stumped by was Harry's latest question. "Do you think my parents really died in a car crash?" he asked, "The Dursley's told me they did, and that that's how I got me scar!" Harry said, missaying 'me' instead of 'my'.

Adrette had so many questions of her own right now. What was a 'car', was one of the big ones. But as Harry appeared to be expecting an answer, she decided to focus on his questions until Loki returned and she could ask him. "I don't know Harry. I'm afraid I know nothing of the world you are from, and thus I can not answer that question. Though I'm willing to bet that Loki is going to know how they died when he comes back," She assured him as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Harry looked down sadly before nodding, "Kay," then his stomach rumbled, quite loudly at that, and he blushed.

Adrette stared at Harry in surprise before her eyes flickered over to the empty snack tray and she tried to figure out just how long it'd been since Harry had finished what had been brought. Deciding it didn't matter, Adrette stood and held out her hand. "Unless Lady Eir has anything to say against the idea, why don't we go to the dining hall. I believe that lunch is being served and I can introduce you to my family. I just know they will adore you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Harry asked cautiously, "Won't Mr Loki be upset if we leave?" Harry finished cautiously.

"I guess I didn't properly explain who I am," Adrette chuckled. "Well Harry, I'm going to be marrying Loki soon, and when I do, that will make me your new grandmother, and as your future new grandmother, I'm pretty sure Loki will trust my judgement and not say no to something as simple as taking your to the dining hall for lunch. Besides, Lady Eir hasn't protested so you are well enough to go and a little walking will do you some good," She told him before reassuring him, "We'll be back before Loki notices we're gone, and I'll tell him it was all my idea."

"Kay," Harry said, letting her lift him off the bed, and not noticing her frown at how light he was for a five year old boy, before she set him on his feet on the ground.

"I will be coming with you, just to make sure he doesn't have any bad reactions to the food we serve in the Dining Hall," Lady Eir said, following them out of the Healing Chambers.

As they walked to the Dining Hall, they drew many eyes as not many children could be seen in Asgard, especially not in the Royal Palace, as such, they drew plenty of looks and conspiratorial whisperings, some of which Harry caught, "They think I am Mr Loki and the result of a bad portion?" Harry asked in a confused voice, not realising he said 'portion' instead of 'potion'.

"Oh of all the small minded moronic things to think!" Adrette growled loudly, letting everyone hear here. "Do you people seriously have nothing to do but stand around and gossip like old women?" She snapped at them. "This boy is in my care and no he isn't my husband to be! So why don't all of you take a leap off the edge of Asgard cause your bringing down the intelligence of your people by living!"

Lady Eir laughed, "Princess Adrette, they think he is Loki because what they are discussing has happened to Loki in the past!" she began, "To top it off, no one is fully aware of what Loki gets up to in his free time," Lady Eir continued, "And finally, the last time a child was seen in the palace was, again, the time Loki had his potion mishap," Lady Eir laughed.

"Still doesn't justify that people who work in the palace and thus have work to do are standing around gossiping like little girls rather than doing their work. I shall be sure to tell king Odin that his staff clearly are slacking off or don't have nearly enough work to do," Adrette's comment was more a threat to the people around her to mind their own business. She'd heard a lot of what people had to say about Loki since she started courting her and she was not impressed with Asgard's treatment of their second prince.

As they finally reached the dining hall, they were greeted by the sight of Xaindruss, his sister, and Adrette's family all sitting at one of the tables eating, as were the Warriors Three, Odin, his wife, his son, and Lady Sif.

Harry frowned and hid behind Adrette's leg when he saw Sif glare him like he was a poison, it was a look the Dursleys had shot at him for as long as he could remember.

"Oh take the bitter piss out your mouth Sif!" Adrette growled. "If you make it so Harry here can't enjoy his meal in peace, I am so personally ripping your hair out strand by strand!" Adrette threatened in annoyance.

Sif glared back at Adrette, but went back to eating her meal in peace. Thor, meanwhile, smiled, "And just who is Harry?" Thor asked happily, he was always excited to meet new people in Asgard.

Odin smiled at Harry, "This boy is to be Loki's student," Odin said honestly, "He drew my attention to him with his magical potential," Odin lied beautifully.

"Great," Lady Sif spoke, "Another coward to be," she said, getting gasps from many of her fellow warriors. Sure, Loki wasn't liked much, but to call him a coward was a little unfair.

Adrette passed Harry off to Lady Eir before silently stalking up behind Sif, grabbing a fist full of her hair and tugging back her head before pressing a dagger to Sif's throat. "Do you call hunting and trapping beasts cowardly? Do you not sneak upon your prey when hunting to drive your blade into its heart before it knows you are upon it?" Adrette questioned before letting go of Sif and putting her dagger away. "Do you call trade negotiations cowardly because your king does not just take what Asgard needs? Are peace talks cowardly? Do you wish Asgard would force all the realms to bend the knee by spilling the blood of those who refuse? Do you wish for all out war with the people across the realms?" Adrette asked Sif harshly before turning to Odin. "And this is your 'great female warrior' who may one day share the throne with Thor. This is no queen, but a war criminal waiting to happen!" Adrette spat before going back to Harry and leading him over to her family.

Odin could feel Frigga glaring at him from over her cup and knew he had to do something about Sif's current behavior. Clearing his throat he turned an annoyed look to Sif. "Lady Sif, remove yourself from the table until you can learn to hold your tongue on such thoughts," He ordered, not hearing a few quiet mutters.

Frigga mentally sighed, knowing that wouldn't be nearly enough to make Sif learn her lesson but let it go for now. She would push for a more harsh punishment later. She could see a great deal of trouble coming from Sif regarding young Harry, and given the years that those like Sif have been able to run free saying whatever the hell they wanted about Loki, Frigga could tell that Harry would most likely be facing a lot of bullying in the coming days if certain steps aren't taken. Frigga made plans to speak with Adrette and queen Vren at some point to see if there might be something the three of them could do to prevent this.

Sif could not believe she was being banished from the table for saying the same things both herself and all of Asgard have said in the past about Loki. With a silent glare at Adrette Sif stood and stormed off.

Xaindruss smiled, "Here, here," he said, earning him a smack from his sister. Sitting back down, he smirked at his sister before turning to Harry, "Hello lad, if my friend took a shine to you, then you can't be bad, or evil for that matter," he said, chuckling a little. "Anyway, names Xaindruss, with an X at the beginning, and I am the prince and heir to Sevyke, homeworld of the Au Ra race," he explained, smiling. Then, removing one of his fresh scales from his forehead, he punctured a hole through it so it could be made into a part of a necklace, "Here, from one friend, to a new friend, consider it a gift my new young friend," Xaindruss said.

"You should be honored by the way, young one, we rarely let anyone have our scales, especially fresh ones," Ælfgifu said, "After all, they can be used in quite a few potions of powerful magics, so, the fact that my brother is giving you one, and from his forehead no less, is a sign of great respect," Ælfgifu finished.

Adrette smiled at her two best friends welcoming Harry as they were, she would ask Loki later if he was alright with her telling them the truth behind Harry, but for now, she would stick with the story that Harry is a ward of her's. Her smile turned into a smirk as she let out a fake sigh of relief. "And here I was worried you'd give him a butt scale." She joked as she walked over to them.

Xaindruss show Adrette a glare, before going back to his mead. Harry meanwhile, has managed to snatch some of the honeyed drink while no one was looking and had taken a sip.

Adrette busied herself with filling a plate for Harry with some help from Lady Eir and thus neither of the pair noticed what Harry was drinking.

Frigga, however, spotted the drink and carefully stood, got a cup of milk and walked over to Harry. "Now, now, Harry, that drink is for later in your life and it most certainly won't help you grow any," She told him as she gently took the honeyed mead from him and gave him the milk. "However, if you like honey I will see about finding some alternatives for you, alright?" Frigga asked as she pushed the mead over to Thor, who graciously drank it down quickly.

Adrette, having heard what Frigga said cursed herself for not getting Harry a drink first. Children shouldn't be touching mead, least of all those Harry's age. "Little one are you alright? I hope that drink didn't upset your stomach," As far as she could see Harry didn't appear to be affected by the drink but one could never be too sure when just looking at the surface. She left Harry's plate with Lady Eir and sat next to Harry, to make sure he didn't drink or eat anything else he shouldn't as well as to monitor for any after effects.

Harry meanwhile, was buzzing inside with energy from the honey portion of the mead. He then began to eat with gusto, looking more and more like Loki after one of his energy draining exercises of magic.

Adrette gave a mental sigh of relief that Harry hadn't gotten sick from the mead. That would have been one of the worst things that could happen during their first few hours together. She sent a grateful smile to Frigga for catching it for her and made a promise to herself that she would be more careful when Harry's sitting at a table with 'adult drinks'.

"So this is the child I heard mention of?" King Esegar said as he gave Harry a friendly smile. "It is good to meet you Harry, I am Esegar, king of Taerelyn and father of Adrette. This is my wife Vren, and our son, Adrette's brother, Mar," He introduced.

"Hello," Mar said with a nod. He would've said more, but the sight of the clothes Harry was wearing had Mar itching to fetch his sewing supplies and fashion the boy something more fitting. Whoever had dressed the child in rags, was an offense to the realms and should be punished for it.

Vren smiled warmly at Harry. "You know, you remind me so much of Adrette when she was little. Same messy hair, the same bright eyes, why you could almost pass for her child if one did not know better," Vren chuckled. "Oh I do hope we can spend some time together, I would just adore to have the chance to relive motherhood with a child again."

Esegar chuckled at that, "Well if you wish for that we still have a few years left that we might have another child," He pointed out with a smile.

Harry meanwhile, was quickly grabbing foods quickly and practically shoving them into his mouth and seemingly barely chewing any of it before he swallowed.

Odin frowned, and was about to say something when a glare from Frigga had him reconsidering his words, "Hopefully, with a student now, Loki will be more...willing, to possibly accept other students in the arts of magic," Odin said, getting an appreciative nod from his wife.

Lady Eir on the other hand, was making sure Harry wouldn't chke, but inside, she was was astonished, his body must have had a reaction between the Honeyed Mead and the nutrient potions she had given him, thus causing this monstrous appetite.

Adrette raised an eyebrow at Odin's comment. "Oh? And here I thought the people of Asgard had been taught to look down on magic and embrace the warrior ways. That most parents force their children, who have shown interest and promise for magic in the past to take up a weapon and abandon all thoughts of magic. Loki has even informed me that he has been threatened many times by parents for trying to encourage their children to give magic a try," She questioned with a slight bitter edge to her tone.

Vren sighed. "I have heard many speaking down about magic practitioners since coming to Asgard. When I questioned them why they think so little of magic they all tell me the same thing, to look at the coward and failure that is prince Loki. When asked why they think that prince Loki is these things, they tell me it's because their king also feels this way about him," Vren said before turning her eyes to Odin. "Now why would that be, I wonder?"

Odin frowned, "I have never stated that Loki is a coward, only that he could use some actual weapons in his arsenal to back up his magic!" Odin replied, "I will have to do something about this it seems..." Odin finished, muttering about rumors and misheard sayings.

Frigga glared at Odin. "So he lacks weapons does he? Loki is skilled in daggers, knives, swords, staffs, and spears, I have also heard him mention an interest in possibly learning to use a bow. Which is more than can be said for Thor who has only learned to use hammers, swords, and his fists. Perhaps if you showed more interest in Loki's skills, not only would you be more aware of what he can use, but people would also stop thinking you disapprove of him. That is why they think you feel that Loki is a failure and a coward! When was the last time you just celebrated something our youngest son did rather than just add his achievement to a celebration about Thor? When have you even openly supported the teaching of magic to other children, let alone young boys?" She demanded. While it was true he had never out right said anything against Loki, the pure fact that Odin never seemed to show any outward pride in public for Loki was more than enough for the people of Asgard to justify their belief that their king saw Loki as these things.

Odin sighed, "I have been changing, my love," Odin pointed out, "But change is slow, especially for Asgard and her people," Odin reminded her, "And while this does not remove the stain of past inactions, it does give us hope," Odin finished.

"Then perhaps you should learn more about Loki before making such claims such as him lacking weapon training." Frigga pointed out. "The people of Asgard will hardly begin to see Loki's skills if their king can't even be bothered to learn of them."

"Little one do slow down. I know you are hungry, but if you keep stuffing it in like that you might end up choking on it." Adrette told Harry, making it look like she wasn't paying attention to Odin anymore when she was actually making note to push Loki to have a sit down with his father and perhaps educate Odin on himself.

Mar, deciding enough was enough regarding Harry's state of dress, stood up. "If you will excuse me, I have some things to prepare. Adrette, kindly bring the child to my room after he's done eating, I need to measure the boy." He announced before leaving the room, going over what materials he had on hand and what ones he might have to send someone out to get.

Odin frowned at his wife, but nodded and stayed silent.

Soon, there was little food around Harry, but he was eyeing other people's plates for extra food.

Volstagg chuckled, "He has a healthy appetite, Lord Odin," he said, before frowning as he noticed that half his plate had been emptied while he was looking away.

Adrette chuckled a little, "Where in the realms are you putting all that food?" She found this whole thing very adorable, and was happy that Sif's comments from before hadn't put Harry off of eating. "If I ever bring you home to my realm, I shall have to make sure to give the kitchens plenty of warning," She joked as she refilled Harry's cup.

"I dare say, that boy has a deep love of food, reminds me of an uncle I had many years back. Thin as a stick, but could clear out any kitchen you challenged him to," Esegar said with a shake of his head.

Harry finally began to slow down, but only because there was very little food left on the tables by this point, it had, in fact, devolved into a fight for food between Harry and Volstagg, and due to Harry's smaller size, he was able to get to the food easier than Volstagg. Lady Eir, meanwhile, was worried, Harry should have hit his maximum capacity for food by now, even with the nutrient potions and her specially designed digestion potions she had developed for the times Thor would be stupid and get it into his head he could over eat and not pay the price. As such, she was amazed, and horrified at how much Harry was eating, especially since he showed no signs of stopping. At the same time, she had given him those potions so as to help him put some meat on his bones, so she was surprised that his body, and his magic, hadn't been putting those nutrients to use yet.

Adrette looked down at Harry in pure wondered. This one boy had out eaten most animals back on her world and didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort from all of it. "Well now, we shall have to keep some snacks on hand from now on," She commented. "Are you full now Little One?"

Frigga had paid very close attention to how much Harry had eaten, and was equally just as worried about Harry as Eir was. This was her great grandson after all, and the fact that he had eaten so much despite his thin frame was something they would all have to watch out for. Frigga would have to see if there was anything that could help fill out Harry faster without needing to empty out the kitchen store rooms each meal.

Vren counted each plate Harry had cleaned with motherly concern. This was clearly a child partly making up for the many missed meals in his life, and was afraid he wouldn't get another chance at eating. Vren decided that she would visit the boy often, and make sure to slip him some extra snacks, just so he doesn't go hungry again and perhaps builds up a little supply of them over time.

Esegar ran a hand through his hair as he looked from his daughter to Harry. It was clear to him that Adrette was worried for the boy, and he really couldn't blame her for being so. This wasn't something that happened with normal children, and thus he knew Adrette was going to go into protective mode. So Esegar began readying a mental list of things send for from back home that he knew she would eventually ask for. Things like snacks, both heavy and light ones, drinks that could also serve as meal supplements, books on how to fill a seemingly bottomless pit. A glance at his wife however, told Esegar he better double every order so that Vren would have something to give to Harry as well.

Harry meanwhile, whimpered, when he realised how much he had eaten, old habits kicking in from when he was with the Durlsleys and they had caught him stealing food.

"Does your stomach hurt? Are you in any pain?" Vren asked before anyone else could even open their mouths.

Before Harry could respond, he made a face before letting out an all mighty belch before blushing and rushing from the room, crying.

Though confused, Adrette quickly went after him, keeping a close pace with him but keeping some distance since something had upset him after all, and she knew it wouldn't look good if she caught up to him at this point in time. She'd have to let him find a place he could feel safe in and then speak to him when the time is right.

Harry, meanwhile, failed to take in his surroundings, as such, he failed to notice he had ran from palace, and out into the streets of Asgard's capital city. He kept running though, trying, and failing, to find anything familiar, that is, until he got to the run down slums of Asgard. As he entered the slums, he ran into someone who was solidly built and he let out a loud, "Oof!" as he bounced off them, and fell backwards onto his butt.

"Hm? Are you alright?" A young girl's voice asked him as someone with long blond hair knelt next to him.

Adrette, having seen what had happened, stopped and took cover, keeping close enough to listen in but far enough away that the pair shouldn't notice her.

"I-I am sorry for b-bumping into you Miss," Harry said, being polite like the Dursleys taught him to be, the only problem was he was shaking like a leaf, like he expected a beating from everyone he met.

The girl smiled at him, "It's okay, everyone bumps into things and people all the time. Also I'm used to it," She told him. "Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" She asked gently. This wasn't a boy she had seen before, but that didn't mean much when it came to the slums as there were different sections across Asgard and thus he could just be from a different section from hers.

Harry shook his head, "I just ate too much food and I am sure I wasn't suppose to eat too much..." he said sadly, looking down, and not seeing the look that passed over the young girl's face. If he had, he would have seen a look of anger and would have run in fear.

"That's not right. People shouldn't tell anyone how much they can eat unless it's too keep them from getting sick," The girl said. "Where did you come from?" While she couldn't do much, she did know a couple boys that could cause trouble for the people who did this. She just needed to know where to find the people.

Harry meanwhile was worried, "I came from da palace!" Harry said shaking like a leaf, "Before that, Little Whinging in Surrey," his words shaking a bit and causing him to come out rushed.

The girl frowned in confusion at that, having no idea where this LIttle Whinging in Surrey is, but not understand what a boy dressed in rags like this one could've been doing eating at the Palace. It was then the girl spotted the cat ears of princess Adrette sticking out from behind some old crates and she began to piece things together. "Were you with the princess Adrette? She's got cat ears and a tail," The girl questioned.

Adrette wondered where that question had come from before mentally kicking herself and ducking down more. She'd clearly been spotted but thankfully the girl Harry was speaking too hadn't said anything on her being there.

Harry nodded, "She's my new gran-gran-oh, I forgot the word..." Harry pouted cutely, "I just hope she don't send me back to the Dursleys..." he finished, mumbling the last part a bit, but since he was still looking down, he didn't see the curious look on the girl's face.

There was no mistaking that the boy had been trying to say something along the lines of grandmother, but that couldn't be right. As far as she knew Adrette didn't have any children. So that would have to mean that Prince Loki is the boy's grandfather, but everyone knew that was impossible for Loki's children were locked up. Still, there had to be a reason that Adrette was following the boy yet keeping her distance for now. "I don't think she'll send you away. I hear the princess is very nice and kind to everyone so long as they are nice too. She's also forgiving. I've heard stories that she even forgave Sir Fandral for grabbing her once in a place he shouldn't be grabbing," She assured Harry.

Harry frowned, remembering the creepy smile that Fandral had sent him, maybe he was misinterpreting Fandral's smile, but he was going to stay away from the man in green as best he could as much as he could. Harry then frowned, "My name is Harry by the way..." Harry finally admitted, blushing awkwardly.

The girl smiled. "I'm Godiva. Now I'm sure princess Adrette is very worried about you. You did run away after all without telling her why. I bet she's looking for you."

Harry's eyes widened comically, then he looked around, before beginning to tear up, "But I lost," then he looked at her, "Do you know the way back to da palace?" he asked, occasionally slipping into broken English in his emotional state of distress.

Godiva moved from a kneeling state to a sitting one. "I hear people say that if you are lost you should just stay where you are until someone finds you. So if we wait I'm sure she'll show up," Godiva told him.

Adrette, taking that as her que carefully came out of hiding and walked over to Harry. "Are you okay, Little One? You're not hurt are you?" She asked as she knelt down next to Harry and looked him over.

Harry smiled sadly, "Sorry to worry you gran-gran, oh, I still can't remember word!" he pouted cutely. "I sorry I ran, I thought you would be mad I ate so much, like the Dursleys when I would sneak into the kitchen for a bit of food at night..." he finished, mumbling as he neared the end of his words.

"I would never be mad at you for that Little One. Lady Eir and I want you to eat as much as you feel you need to. If you are hungry then just say so, and we'll make sure you have something to eat. I want you get better, to recover from what those horrible people did to you and you can't do that if you don't eat enough." Adrette told him. "Next time you think you did something bad, I want you to tell me, okay? I'll let you know if you actually did do something bad or not. Okay?" Adrette was glad Harry hadn't decided to run off on her again, clearly talking to this Godiva girl had done him some good.

Harry nodded sadly, "Kay," he said, looking down, then he looked at Godiva, "Can Godiva come back with us?" he asked hopefully.

Adrette looked at Godiva, seeing she was one of the poor children who live in the slums of Asgard. There was something kind of familiar about the girl, but she couldn't place what it was. In any case, Adrette knew that Godiva wouldn't be allowed into the palace, but how was she to explain this to Harry?

"I'm not allowed at the palace right now Harry. Maybe one day, but for now, the king doesn't want me there." Godiva explained, making Adrette frown in confusion as it sounded like she was certain she would one day be able to walk the palace halls."You should go back with the princess and let everyone know you're okay."

Harry frowned sadly but nodded, then he turned to Adrette, "Can I at least come visit Godiva?" he asked hopefully, "She's nice, like you Adredde!" he said, mispronouncing her name.

"I'll see if I can speak with the king about this. However, I can't make any promises Little One." Adrette told him before turning to Godiva, "Thank you for looking after him for me."

Godiva smiled at that. "I'll keep a look out for Harry in case he gets lost again," She promised.

Harry pouted, in his mind, he had just made his first friend, he hoped the king would let her play with him in the future, after all, she was nice! Harry then let Adrette lead him back to the palace, but as they got closer, Harry began to get nervous, especially when he saw the guards glaring at him, unaware they were actually glaring at the state of his clothes, not at him.

Adrette stopped walking and glared back at the guards. "Oh go boil your heads you tin wearing over polished statues!" She snapped at them. "Hells, no wonder the people in town often say the palace is as welcoming as ice with you lot standing outside it." She grumbled before turning to Harry. "These morons can do nothing to you Little One, and if they ever do," Here Adrette spoke loud and clear for all guards in hearing distance to hear her. "Then you can tell me or Loki and we'll make sure the king deals with them personally! Most likely by demanding public humiliation and that their crime of trying to hurt a child under mine and Loki's protection and care be known to all of Asgard!"

While the guards knew they shouldn't have glared, the one guard with more courage spoke up, "Pardon my apologies Princess Adrette, we were merely offended that someone under your care has yet to get a proper wardrobe, and we were more glaring at his clothes for the fact they represent a hardship of sorts then at the boy himself. We honestly meant no harm to the boy, and if we scared you, little one," the Guard continued, looking at Harry, "We both apologize, also, keep an eye out for two guards who refuse to wear their helmets and look exactly alike, they are Mudflaps and Skidds, they are, by far, the nicest of the Palace Guards. They are also two of the most skilled, though you would be hard pressed to believe it with how much mischief they cause," the guard finished with a chuckle.

Harry nodded to the guard and then turned to Adrette.

"You glare at people who look like they've fallen into hardships? I swear sometimes you Asgardians are more backwards in thinking then you are advanced," Adrette said with a shake of her head. "In regards to his clothes, once I've assured everyone he is alright and Lady Eir has looked him over, I'm taking him to my brother who I'm certain will be dealing with his current state of dress, if not his entire wardrobe before the day is out." She then thought on the two guards he had mentioned. "Nicest guards with a love of mischief you say? Sounds like fun to me." She grinned before turning to Harry, "Come on Little One. Let's get everyone else out of the way and hurry to my brother." She then whispered, "He can be such a whiny little kitty when he's kept waiting too long," She joked to him.

Harry just silently nodded, wondering when Grampy Loki would be back.

As they made their way through the hallways to the feast hall, Harry began to grow worried that everyone would be mad at him for running off. After all, he had ended up eating most of the food, even some of the fat guys food when he wasn't looking, and he was sure to be in trouble for that alone, at the same time, he was sure that they would be mad at him for running off instead of taking his punishments like a 'real man' as his uncle Vernon would call it.

Adrette, sensing Harry's fear turned to him with a smile. "If anyone in that room is mean to you about what happened, then I'll make sure to wait until Loki is back before informing him I'm taking you home with me. My people are so much nicer than many of these Asgardians and I know they will love you, Little One," she told him, and she would do it. She'd make Loki pack a bag for both himself and Harry and then steal them both away if Asgard was going to be a horrible place for her soon to be little family. Not that she wasn't already planning to bring Loki back to her home to begin with.

When they entered the feast hall, the first to greet them was Harry's great grandmother, Frigga, who smiled, "I am so glad you back Harry, we were all worried about you when you ran off," she said soothingly, Odin nodded with a pained smile. He had wanted to tell Harry that it was rude to leave the room, that is, he did, until Frigga reminded him what they learned from Harry's scans about the way he was raised, at which point he caved and decided to go with Frigga's plan.

Harry, meanwhile, looked from Adrette to Frigga, before slowly walking over to Frigga and giving her a hug. "Can I go bed now?" Harry asked of both Frigga and Adrette, he had suddenly been overcome by a wave of tiredness. What he didn't know was that all that food he had eaten had now settled making him feel heavy and tired. He heard laughter and looked to the source to see it was Volstagg, or, as Harry kept referring to him in his mind, the fat man.

Hogun then stepped up and surprised many when he gave Harry a hug, "Given how much you have eaten young one, I am surprised you haven't fallen over before now, if you would like, I would like to offer my services as a part-time bodyguard and friend when I am not with my friends, Volstagg, Fandral, and Thor," Hogun offered.

Adrette thought about asking Harry to hold on just a little longer so that Mar could measure him, but then shook that thought off. The poor boy had been through a lot today and now it was all catching up with him. Turning to her mother she asked, "Could you tell Mar that he can measure the Little One another time?" When she got a nod from her mother Adrette walked over to Harry. "Okay Little One, I'll take you back to bed," She told him and picked him up. She looked over to Hogun with a smile. "I'll be sure to mention your offer to Loki when I next see him. Thank you for it."

Hogun saluted Asgardian style, "Its the least I could do," he smiled.

Thor meanwhile, was looking at his parents, "I trust that it will be explained where Loki's new student came from in private?"

"You assume correctly, Thor," Frigga spoke in a serious tone, letting him know this was family secrets, and thus not for all ears. Thor nodded having caught her meaning.

Harry meanwhile, yawned, and before they had even reached his room that was part of Adrette's, he was out like a light and slowly gaining weight as the nutrient potions went to work, processing all the protein rich food that Harry had eaten earlier.

**~w~**

**~An: Ogremen: Sorry it took so long to get this out, the muse wasn't hitting us, plus things have been happening in RL for both of us, for me, it's the death of one relative and another that is dying, anyway, enough of the sad talk, we hope you liked this chapter, and if you did, leave a review of what your favorite moment was, made made you laugh, or cry, or angry, that kind of thing. And now, I have said my piece, and am going to pass the 'mic' to Oracle, ok?**

**Oracle: So here we see Harry's first interactions with the main players in Asgard and a little surprise appearance from a certain girl that's followed by palace guards. What did all of you think of the story? Yes, we're still anti Sif, but we are going to try to restrain ourselves, so please try not to worry. When the next chapter will be out we really can't say what with things going on that are out of our control. Be sure to let us know your thoughts and feelings and we will catch you all in the next chapter.**


	6. Delay in writing, here's why

Sorry to everyone waiting for the next chapter. My PC has been acting up and while I do have a phone that can sort of access my stuff it is very limited where ff is concerned. So please be bare with me as I try to get this sorted. Again super sorry this happened now of all times.


	7. Information and Obligations

**AN: Ogremen: Ahem, (Clears throat loudly) GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! (tries to sound like Professor Farnsworth), Oracle got her computer fixed, so, we've been working hard! What's more, this is a hell of a chapter, lol Anywho, now for a word from the Mistress of Chronicles, Oracle!**

**Oracle: Right cause the fact that this got posted didn't tell them my pc was fixed lol. But yeah, we really worked hard on this chapter and it turned out pretty long as we kept going before finally deciding on a place to stop. We really hope that it was worth the extremely long wait we sadly put everyone through. Thanks to everyone who sent kind messages offering help with my pc and thank you everyone for your understanding during the time my pc was down. It really means alot to us to know we have such awesome readers like all of you. Please give us feedback, we really don't know if you are enjoying it unless you speak up.**

**~w~**

**~Gringotts Bank, London Branch, Managers Office~**

Ragnok smiled, happy to be helping compile a list of things that Dumbledore had done against the Potter Vaults, the Potter Heir, and, indirectly, against Loki.

"So, Madam Bones, what have we got so far?" he asked, looking at the current head of the Bones family.

Amelia picked up the parchment with the short list they had so far. "We've been able to trace certain amounts of funds stolen from the main vault that have passed from Dumbledore's hands into the hands of certain people, this includes certain dark witches and wizards, a few current Ministry heads, and a large portion seems to have found its way into his own vault. There's also proof of theft of certain items from the Potter vault that so far have yet to have their locations be found," She read off. "We have reason to suspect that he has dabbled in dark blood magic, though we will have to examine the blood ward around his relatives house to be certain of that, I have some ideas for Aurors that will not be labeled as biased by the public we can get to help us with that." She continued before looking up, "Anything regarding the blood wards that I forgot?" She asked the pair with her.

Loki's eyes hardened at that question. "How about attempting to tamper with my bloodline to serve his own needs and wishes? The perversion of the blood of a child?" He asked.

Amelia wrote that down, as tampering with a wizarding line was a crime, let alone tampering with the line of someone like Prince Loki.

Ragnok nodded, "There is also Sirius Black's case," he reminded them, "After all, he was never formally charged, and so, is, infact, the current head of the Black Family, as recognised by magic," he concluded.

Amelia nodded, having tried in the past to get a proper trial for Sirius after learning he hadn't been given one. "Yes, that I found to be highly odd, and when I questioned the former head of my department, he claimed that because the Aurors on site got a confession from him a trial was deemed not necessary. However everyone knows that such things, regardless of if or when a confession is gained, are against our laws. There must always be a trial when it comes to something as serious as what he was charged with," She stated as she wrote down that crime. "And from what I recall, Dumbledore had been the one to make Sirius the Potter's secret keeper, thus he would have been a good person to testify. Which is another thing that makes the lack of trial strange, given he's pushed for so many other trials in the past," She noted.

Ragnok nodded, "There is also the illegal suppression of the Last Will and Testament of the Lord and Lady Potter, or, at least, the Ministry's copies," Ragnok said, then rubbed his chin, "Actually, as a matter of fact, seeing as Prince Loki is the newly recognised Magical Guardian of the Potter Heir, he could, in theory, request the bank's copies of the wills and force them to be read, thus nullifying Dumbledore's orders to suppress them," he finished thoughtfully.

"That will come later," Loki told him. "We are still in the beginning stages, and thus I cannot risk revealing I am here until we have everything in order. I refuse to give that bastard any opportunity to hide his crimes from us."

Amelia smiled suddenly. "When noble houses are just about wiped out it is not uncommon for certain families or even Ministry members to try to take advantage of the lack of numbers and cease control over everything that family has. Even more so if the only one left of that family is a child." Seeing the confusion as to why this is a good thing Amelia continued. "However in Harry's case it is less a matter of a Lord and Lady's wills being suppressed and more a matter of a Princess and prince's wills being suppressed. After all, Lily was a princess of Asgard, and thus any husband of her's would've been recognized as a prince by the Ministry. Given that magical royalty is so very rare these days, most of the old laws pertaining to them are still in place to this day. One such law," she said as her smile grew, "Is the protection of magical royal children. A law that states all magical royal children who are placed with other families, must be checked upon once every month by the Ministry to ensure their health and safety, it also states that only family appointed guardians may be selected to oversee the child's accounts and properties," She finished.

Ragnok nodded thoughtfully, "And when they learn that the 'esteemed' Headmaster and leader of the Wizengamot, along with the leader of the International Confederation of Wizards," Ragnok said pointedly, "Seemingly, purposefully endangered a royal child, failed to have someone check up on him from the Ministry, and on top of that, stole from him," he continued, "The Lords and Ladies are sure to feel that they have...how you say..." he said, turning to Amelia.

Loki grinned, "I believe the Midgardian term for that is still, 'Royally fucked up'," He supplied, getting a laugh from Amelia.

"In more ways than one," She agreed. "To think, we've only just truly begun this and yet we already have enough to crush Dumbledore for the things he's done to Harry alone. How I cannot wait to really dig into his past," She mused.

Ragnok nodded, "We will have to find allies," Ragnok said as he realised they would need to win over others to their side, and if he knew Prince Loki at all, it would not be a list of only those who are claimed as being 'Light' families, but a blend of Light, Dark, and the always ignored, Neutral families, that will be found and brought into Prince Loki's fold.

"For Aurors, I would recommend Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nola Owlet, Rose Night, and Aegis Coil. Both Moody and Shacklebolt do support Dumbledore in a way, but will turn against him if presented with proof of his crimes, they are also Aurors of high note and have a reputation for not taking bribes. The other three, are still young but have gained much reputation for their aid in tracking down many past dark magic users that had gone unnoticed." Amelia then thought about it, "Also I believe Owlet transferred from MACUSA when her mother, who lives in this country, fell ill, so she has the benefit of having not been taught by Dumbledore, or even attending Hogwarts while he worked there," She noted.

"If you feel they are the best choice, then I trust your judgement on the matter. I shall have words with some of the people who are branded 'Magical Creatures', seeing how many witches and wizards overlook them, and thus commit crimes within their sight under the belief that 'Magical Creatures' can't testify," Loki smirked. "Too bad for them, as a Magical Royal of my ranking, I can enact the law that grants a voice to these so called 'Magical Creatures' when it comes to testifying in court."

Ragnok and Amelia nodded. "We'll need a cover name for our little…'operation', or alliance," Amelia said.

Loki smirked to himself, "Why not call it Ragnarok? After all, when we are over, their lives will be over and their worlds as they know it destroyed," He suggested.

Amelia frowned, "It's too simple, how about, 'The Knights of Ragnarok'?" she suggested, "After all, it would appeal to those of the Old Families, but also sound righteous enough for the Light families while worrying the Dark families," she explained upon seeing their confused looks. "What's more, if anyone were if anyone were to investigate our little…'group'." she smirked, "They wouldn't find anything," she concluded.

Loki nodded, "If the group name is only linked to the Auror members, then we would have little to fear, as most would stop upon seeing their names. Not a bad cover." Loki then smiled at her, "I can see why my daughter was so close to you."

Amelia smiled in recognition of the complement. "Thank you, Prince Loki," she smiled in reply.

Ragnok then pulled a very old bottle of Ogden's Finest from under his desk. Blowing some dust off the top of the bottle, he smiled, "One of my treasures!" he smirked, seeing their confused looks, "A sixteenth century bottle of Ogden's Finest!" he said, cracking a grin, and pouring three glasses after opening the bottle. "No arguments," he said, giving a pointed look to Amelia. "To 'The Knights of Ragnarok'!" he cheered, raising his glass and then downing it quickly.

"Given the recent reveal of my previously unknown daughter, I am almost tempted to try to refuse," Loki mused before grabbing his glass, raising it as Ragnok had and downing it. "But, I will not insult you just because of that. Though it does remind me I need to get Thor in the same situation as I am, just so he can share in the…'joy'," Loki continued dryly.

Amelia shook her head and followed suit, with a shake of her head. "Really starting to wonder about Asgard after hearing that."

Once they had all had their drinks, Ragnok capped the bottle, intending to save the rest for himself after the other two had left. "So, are we done for now, I really need to start going over the accounts properly, since I will be taking them on myself," he stated.

Loki nodded, "Until Amelia, yourself, or I, discover something else that needs to be looked into, or can be used against Dumbledore, I believe we have concluded for the time being." He told Ragnok before turning to Amelia. "Once the matter of Dumbledore and the Ministry is sorted out, I shall bring Harry to visit you. Perhaps my bride-to-be might even be interested in meeting you," Loki told her before realizing that this had to be the first time he'd mentioned Adrette. "Ah, right. I forgot to mention, I am to be wed, haven't I?"

Ragnok shook his head in amusement, "Another one for the books, Prince Loki?" he joked, earning a glare from the Prince of Mischief.

Amelia was surprised to hear that Loki was getting married, again. "Well I do hope that your future bride gets along with Harry."

Loki gave a smile at that, "I assure you, were she here in my place, there would not even be a body left of Dumbledor,e and all those who helped wrong my grandson," He chuckled. "From the moment she spotted him in my arms, I am certain she laid claim to him and is just itching to come to Midgard and hunt her 'prey'," He told her.

Amelia stared at him in shock, but was just glad that Loki's bride cared so much about Harry.

Ragnok just smiled, shaking his head in amusement.

**~w~**

**~Later, on Asgard, Royal Healing Chambers, with Harry~**

Harry groggily opened his eyes, wondering what time it was and temporarily forgetting where he was and what had been happening recently, as such, he relapsed into old habits. "Aunt Petunia?" he asked, looking around as he sat up, only to stop and notice the room was way too fancy to be Privet Drive. He was rebooting his brain slowly as he tried to remember what happened and where he was, when the doors opened and he saw Adrette smiling at him as she walked in.

"Sleep well Little One?" Adrette asked as she walked over and took a seat on the bed. "You don't have to get up right now if you don't want to, you know? No one's going to make you get out of bed if you are still tired," She told him with a found smile. It was just too hard not to find everything about Harry cute, well almost everything. The abuse and mental torment he had undergone would never be okay in her mind.

As everything came back to Harry in a rush of memory finally, he looked up at Adrette, "Grampy back yet?" he asked hopefully. He really was hoping his grampa was back, that way he could ask lots of questions regarding their family.

Adrette shook her head. "Sorry Little One, he's not back yet. However, I know he went to find out why you were treated so horribly by the people that should have loved you, and he's going to make sure those bad people are punished for what they did," She told him. "If you want though, I think your great grandmother is sitting in her garden right now, and I know she would love to spend more time with you. Would you like to go see her?" She offered instead, wanting to expose Harry as much to queen Frigga as she could since she felt that he hadn't had a lot of positive female figures in his life at this point.

Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding shyly. He hadn't known many women in his life who were 'nice' to him, so, he hoped his great grandmother was at least nicer than his Aunty Petunia. He then frowned as he realised he felt...different…then before. He reached up to rub his forehead in confusion, when he noticed his arms were longer...and thicker.

Adrette smiled as she noticed that Harry's baggy clothes were starting to not look as baggy on him. "Oh good, I wasn't sure if the food and potions were helping to get you at a proper weight for a boy your age, but it looks like they are working well, you've even already started gaining some height that you'd been prevented from getting before," she said as she explained about how Harry was on a special nutrition potion to help correct the years of starving he'd endured before under the Dursleys. "Just wait till Loki gets back and sees the improvements to your health. He'll be so happy."

Harry blushed, "I need new clothes," Harry said blushing embarrassedly, he refused to meet his great grandmother in rags. Maybe Asgard had some contemporary clothes, rather than just the refined and nice clothings that he recalled seeing everyone wearing.

Adrette smiled at him, "My brother has been waiting for this. We can go to his room, get him to take your measurements, though by how you are growing already I can tell he'll need to retake them a few times, and he can fix you up with some new clothes." She giggled, "My brother is the fastest tailor in my world, and I know he already has everything set up to get to work on them," Adrette added as she stood and held out her hand to him.

Harry nodded shyly, "Kay," he then blushed, "Um...your brother won't...uh...jug-judg-uh..." he said, failing to remember the word that Petunia would use when she would make him 'presentable' so that the neighbors wouldn't look down on them for talking about him.

Adrette smirked at Harry, "If my brother says anything to make you uncomfortable, or makes you feel bad about yourself, tell me." She then leaned in and whispered, "I'll pay his room a visit with manure from the stables to get back at him for it."

Harry giggled at the thought of Adrette pranking her brother, "Kay," he said simply as he slowly pulled back the covers and slowly moved his feet off the big bed. As he put his feet on the ground, he tried to stand up and nearly fell backward onto the bed, his feet almost coming out from under him as they slipped on the cool stone due to lack of grip.

Adrette grabbed hold of Harry's arms gently to help steady him. "Are you alright?" She asked as she looked him over before glaring at the floor. "I'll be sure to complain about the lack of safety regarding this floor. There should be a rug of some kind under the beds to ensure this doesn't happen." She then looked back to Harry, "We'll get you some footwear while we get you clothes so you won't slip again." She assured him and gave him a hug since he had to have been startled by the slip.

Harry blushed as he received the hug and then smiled shyly as he was helped to stand slowly, "T-thank you, Gran-grand-ugh!" he growled in frustration, still unable to remember the term she told him to call her.

Adrette chuckled at his attempt. "You don't have to call me grandmother, or anything like that. You can just call me Adrette, like your grandfather does," She told him.

Harry pouted, "But are you a precious!" he asked, accidentally saying precious instead of princess.

Adrette laughed, having heard some of the children back home make that same mistake yet knowing what he actually meant. "Yes, I am a princess, and your grandfather is a prince," She then knelt down to his eye level. "And your mother was also a princess, which makes you," She gently tapped his nose. "A prince. That makes you and I equals," She finished pointedly.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on her finger tapping his nose, making him look adorable. Once she took her finger away, his eyes opened wide in realization. "B-but, I-um..." he stammered, trying to process her words.

Adrette picked him up then and began to walk out of the room. "Now enough talk. We best get to Mar before he marches into this room bringing along all his supplies. He does that, and we'll never get away from him until you have five years worth of clothing." She joked, knowing her brother has a habit of going overboard if left to his own thoughts for too long before a project.

Harry nodded shyly, and looked around from his new position in Adrette's arms. When they finally got to Mar's room. Harry frowned, wondering how Mar would react to his scars, not knowing that most of them had been removed by Lady Eir. As they finally passed through the door, Harry saw Mar turn toward them and rush towards them when he obviously recognised them, causing Harry to shrink and cringe from Mar's obvious excitement.

"I was starting to think it would be faster to measure him in his sleep!" Mar commented excitedly as he held up some different clothes, trying to see what colors would look best on Harry. After a moment he sighed and turned back to his work table and waved to a slightly raised platform. "Set him down over there for the measuring," He told Adrette before grumbling, "I know if I have a better shade somewhere..."

Adrette rolled her eyes at her brother and walked over to the platform. "Sorry about him. He loves to craft things so when he gets to design clothing for someone it becomes a great joy to him," she told Harry as she set him down. "Just remember what I said, if he makes you upset or uncomfortable, tell me," She whispered to Harry.

Harry nodded shyly before blushing as Mar rushed over him and began measuring him with an old fashioned measuring tape, well, old fashioned to Harry's mind, which was based on modern Earth standards.

"Definitely taller than he was at lunch..." He noted. "The clothes I make will have to be just for the day as he'll just need more by tomorrow," He commented, to which Adrette rolled her eyes and told him she'd already guessed that. Mar then set aside the measuring tape and picked up the device he used for foot measuring. "I can make sandals for him for today while I work on proper footwear..." He then stood up and went to write down the measurements and sizes. "Must speak to Lady Eir about when to expect the growth and weight gain to taper out so I can make more than a one day outfit for him..." He then began to get to work on the tunic he was going to give Harry first.

Adrette guided Harry over to a couple chairs and sat them down. "He's going to be a while, so best to relax," She explained. "So Harry, do you like being outdoors a lot?" She was asking partly because she wanted to know if he would enjoy games outside, and partly so Mar would know if the outfits needed to be able to handle outdoors a lot.

Harry looked down thoughtfully, then he nodded, "I like to garden..." he started, "I also like cooking!" he added excitedly, "I would also….um...liek to make a few friends..." he finally added, trailing off at the end awkwardly and blushing the whole time as he saw Adrette looking at him thoughtfully.

Adrette was surprised to hear about the cooking bit, as Harry should be too young for it, but said nothing about it. "I'm sure Queen Frigga would love to have you help in the garden with her, and that Loki would be only too happy to get you your own little plot of land so you can grow whatever you want." She assured him, "And as for friends," She smiled. "Well, you already seemed to have that one young girl you met as a friend, and I'm sure you'll easily make more before long," She assured him.

Harry smiled embarrassedly, and nodded, he then blushed as Mar came back and began to measure Harry's head now.

Adrette wasn't sure what to make of the blushing so she just kept a close eye on Harry, getting a sense that he wasn't used to speaking up when something felt wrong, and thus she would have to try to read his expressions more. "Asgard has many kids, and I'm sure we can arrange for you to spend the day with some and see if you find any friends among them. And of course you don't just have to have other kids as your friends. I'm sure there's going to be a line up of adults that will just love to spend time with you," She told Harry.

Harry was unsure about that, but kept silent, as he had been raised by the Dursleys to do when he had a differing opinion. After a while, Harry began to feel hungry, but didn't want to disturb Mar, who kept going between his sketching table and taking more measurements of Harry's body, or holding up different colours to see how they might look on Harry. Unfortunately for Harry though, the decision to speak up or not was stolen from him when his gut gave a distinctly loud growl causing him to blush in embarrassment and look down in shame.

Mar raised a brow at the sound while Adrette let out a chuckle.

"I'll go get one of the servants to bring snacks," She said in amusement as she stood and headed for the door, commenting how she's going to start carrying a bag of snacks with her at all time for the foreseeable future.

"Hm, Asgardian weight gain potions are most effective it seems, or at least the appetite ones are. I shall have to keep that in mind the next time I want some petty revenge against Aeni when she tries to tamper with my projects." Mar then smirked towards Harry. "Never leave your food or drink out of your sight. When you do that, you open yourself up to pranks and attacks," He advised Harry.

Harry nodded, still blushing in embarrassment from the sound his stomach made, turning to Adrette, Harry asked quietly, "Can we go eat now?" he asked hopefully.

Mar came over with a quick pair of leather pants and a simple tunic in green with gold trim along the sleeves. "Try these on first," He instructed. "It will take a little longer for me to create footwear for him, however I'm certain he will be fine for now walking around inside the palace without any," He told his sister.

Adrette nodded in understanding and waited for Harry to change into his new clothes.

When Harry finished changing, he came out and looked at Adrette expectantly, blushing and fidgeting the whole time.

Adrette smiled, liking how the new clothes fit on him, even if they were just quickly thrown together by Mar, and thus would soon be replaced with a better set once her brother had finished with what he actually had in mind. "Those look wonderful on you Little One, and Loki will be so happy seeing you in his colors," She praised.

"Alright, now you may take him to eat, though I do expect him back here to try on clothes as I finish making them." Mar told Adrette as he returned to his work table and began cutting more fabric and sketching designs.

"Come along now, Little One, and let's see what we can find for you to eat," Adrette said to Harry as she held her hand out for him.

Harry took her hand and let her lead him to the dining chamber, where they saw Sif, who glared at Harry but wisely said nothing before she resumed eating. There was also Volstagg present, who was eagerly waving Harry and Adrette over when he noticed them. Also present were Hogun, Thor, and Frigga.

Adrette glared at Sif but since she had said nothing she let the glare slide as she brought Harry over to where the everyone who wasn't a bitch was sitting. "Alright Harry, remember, you can eat as much as you want, and don't be afraid to ask for more if you are still hungry." Adrette reminded him as they both sat down. She didn't want a repeat of Harry running away because he thought he'd done something wrong.

Frigga smiled at the pair. "I see your brother was able to get Harry's measurements and provide him with some new clothes. I must say they look quite nice on him," she commented.

Adrette gave a chuckle. "Those are just quickly prepared clothes so that Harry could go eat. My brother is working on the actual clothes that Harry's new wardrobe will be filled with, as well as footwear for him."

Volstagg smiled, "Aren't your feet cold lad?" he asked, and was surprised when Harry replied instantly with, "I'm used to it," and a shrug of his shoulders before digging into the food and occasionally trying to sneak some Mead his way.

Adrette, with help from Frigga made sure to keep the mead out of Harry's reach. "Mar will hopefully have something for his feet soon enough. My brother is currently a man with a goal, and he will not stop until he completes his work," She assured Volstagg.

Harry meanwhile pouted as whenever he would manage to almost get the Mead into reach, only for Frigga and Adrette to move back outside his reach.

Volstagg chuckled, amused by the boy's efforts to taste the heavenly goodness of the honeyed drink. As such, he would sneak little bits of Mead to Harry when Adrette and Frigga weren't looking.

At one point during the meal Adrette spotted what the big red guy was doing when he thought no one was watching him and decided to enact a little punishment. "Oh, Volstagg, what's that over there?" She asked innocently and when he looked away she slipped a little bitter medicine into his drink, nothing that would hurt him. She then pretended to be interested in the thing she had distracted him with and waited for the moment he would take a drink.

Harry had seen what Adrette had done and tried to warn Volstagg that something was in his drink, but was too slow to stop Volstagg sadly as he watched Volstagg drink only to stop, look at his drink before a look of dawning horror spread over his face and he rushed from the room, but not before letting out a long, humiliating fart as he left. Harry waved his hand in front of his face trying to get rid of the disgusting scent, before commenting, "Smells like when Vernon would eat some of Petunia's broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage casserole!" he commented disgustedly.

Adrette covered her nose with a smirk. "I hope he's learned his lesson. When someone says no to something for Little One there are no exceptions to the rule," She said as she passed Volstagg's glass to a servant with instructions to dispose of it 'safely'.

Frigga gave an amused smile and shook her head. "A shame Loki couldn't be here to see that. He'd be very proud of you, though I think we could do with some fresh air," she said with a pained look. With a wave of her hand a breeze crafted from magic blew through the room and carried the foul odor outside. "I trust there will be no lasting effect?" She asked Adrette.

Adrette grinned, "Well, I would avoid the hall he ran out to for a while, but other than that, I am certain the mess will be contained in his clothes until he finds a place to relieve himself properly," She chuckled.

Harry stared at Adrette with amazement, wondering how she came up with such a concoction, but also vowing to try his best to never cross her. More importantly though, he realised he would have to learn to be more sneaky about getting that sweet honey goodness. Deciding to table that thought process for now, he resumed eating, quickly clearing the table of food like a younger and thinner looking Volstagg as he did, causing many to start to stack their plates with as much food as they could so they could eat more leisurely and secure in the knowledge they wouldn't have to wait for more food to be delivered.

The rest of the meal continued peacefully, outside of Sif making a snide comment about how there's now clearly a female Loki in Asgard, but she was largely ignored. Everyone ate their fill, with Harry being given most of whatever else the others didn't finish when the rest of the table got full, and Frigga offered Adrette some suggestions on snacks that could help keep Harry full between meals until his appetite levels outs.

"So Little One, what do you feel like doing now?" Adrette questioned as Harry finished the last of his food.

Harry put his hand on his chin and scrunched up his face cutely as he thought about it. Then he smiled as he said, "Can we go and visit Godiva?" he asked hopefully, "Please?" he added, putting on the Puppy Eyes.

Adrette thought about it and shrugged. "We can see if we can find her, since we didn't ask about where she lives. But first, we have to see Mar about getting you something to wear on your feet. I refuse to take you outside without anything to protect your feet," She answered.

Harry pouted, but nodded as he slowly and carefully got up, before going over to Adrette and slowly took her hand, and followed her from the room.

Adrette waved to the table, or at least those who she was on good terms with, and led Harry back to Mar's room. "It'll just be a quick stop to get you some boots and maybe a jacket, then we'll head outside to look for her," She assured Harry. Adrette mentally chuckled at herself, being reminded of how her mother used to do this same thing to her whenever Adrette wanted to go racing outside to hunt and gather with her friends.

Harry pouted again, "Do I have to put on shoes?" he asked sadly, "I'm used to walking around barefoot!" he said happily, shocking everyone within hearing range.

Adrette took a deep breath, pleading for the strength not to storm the Bifrost, track down his 'relatives', she really wanted to use a different term for them, and inserting every sharp object she can get her hands on into each and every one of those bastards. Putting a smile back on her face she turned to Harry. "What those...things you were made to call...'family'... did to you is everything wrong when it came to you. From now on, you will wear boots and shoes when outside, inside you can go barefoot, so long as it is alright with Loki and your great grandparents. Shoes and boots protect our feet from sharp things that you can cut them on, so they are important to wear outside." She then informed him, "Also I'm pretty sure my brother's going to be making all your footwear out of some of the best hides out there. Everyone's going to wish they had footwear like yours."

Harry frowned, scrunching up his face cutely again as he thought about what Adrette said as they arrived at Mar's door. Just as the door started to swing open, Harry asked, "So does that mean I can wear clean clothing every day?" he asked innocently.

The hand not holding Harry's hand twitched along with Adrette's eye as the intent to kill those bastards grew to new levels she hadn't known she was capable of feeling. Still, she made sure to keep those feelings from her voice as she answered carefully, "Yes, you will be wearing clean clothes every day from now on. And you will bathe regularly, eat proper meals, and all the other things that...'family'...of yours refused to let you do," She told him.

Mar, seeing through his sister's mask of calm with practiced ease, grabbed the dragon hide boots he'd recently completed for Harry, along with the hand made socks and walked over to Harry, handing the items to him. "Sit down and put these on, then walk around the room to see if they fit comfortably," He instructed the boy.

Harry nodded, and put them on, putting on the socks and showing obvious surprise at how comfortable they are, and then the boots, and, again showed obvious surprise, but a lot more than when he had pulled on the socks. "They are so warm and soft!" He said in shock and surprise.

"Naturally," Mar beamed with pride. "I take great care with all of my projects, and even greater care when it comes to things I make for my family. Not a single step is missed and is always done with the greatest of care, no matter how busy I might get. I am not considered the best crafter in our kingdom for nothing."

Adrette gave her brother a flat look. "Well, you certainly aren't the most modest crafter, that's for sure." She teased him, getting an annoyed glare from Mar, along with an ever so mature stuck out tongue face.

Harry then pouted and tried to drag Adrette towards the door, but he just kept having to move his feet in the same place as she was not only taller than him, but also had more mass then his underweight body.

"Harry, you forgot to walk around the room to be certain they fit right." She gently reminded him. "We aren't leaving until Mar is certain those are the right size for your feet."

Mar chuckled at Harry's impatience. "You know, he reminds me of a certain someone. But for the life of me I just can't put my finger on who," Mar teased his sister who just stuck her tongue out at him.

Harry pouted and sat down heavily, or, rather, as heavily and angrily as he could in a chair as Mar went about checking out the boots, and Harry's feet, making sure that the boots were a good fit. For Harry, while this was all new, he really wanted to go see his friend, to him, that was more important than seeing if his new footwear fit properly, and then he realised that he still needed to try on his new clothes too! This, of course, caused him to groan in realisation of that fact.

Adrette chuckled at Harry acting like a proper child for once. "I know this all seems like a pain Harry, but if we don't make sure everything fits right, then Loki is going to be upset with us. You don't want my brother and I to get in trouble with your grandfather, do you?" Adrette asked him sweetly.

Harry suddenly looked and felt conflicted, one the one hand, he hated having to sit and wait to see his new friend his own age, on the other however, he didn't want his grandpa, Mr Loki, to be mad at Adrette or Mar for helping make sure that everything fit him properly. Clearly his thoughts and internal conflict must have shown as he suddenly felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Adrette looking at him with a comforting smile.

"How bout this Harry. You let us get you a few outfits for the remainder of the week and then we can go see your new friend? But tomorrow we spend the day with Mar, and possibly Loki, to get the rest of your clothes done. So that's just three outfits to try on. Deal?" Adrette offered, knowing what it's like to want to run off and have fun but be stuck inside.

Harry thought about it, scrunching his face up unconsciously as he thought about it in an adorable manner. Finally coming to a decision, he looked to Adrette, and nodded, "Kay, but, can we bring some food with us...please?" he replied, begging cutely when he reached the end of his reply.

Adrette chuckled and shook her head. "Sure Harry. We can bring some things to eat with us." She agreed, and couldn't wait to tell Loki all about how today was. Sure, Harry running off will upset him, but the fact that Harry made a friend all on his own was bound to make Loki happy, and of course the struggle to get Harry to agree to try on his new clothes and footwear was bound to give him a chuckle or two.

Harry nodded happily, and, though still reluctant, he went along with Mar seemingly playing with his feet, never realising that Mar was just as much inspecting Harry's physical condition as much as he was making sure that the footwear fit, taking note of the scars, calluses, and various scrapes and healed cuts that were on Harry's two feet. Finally, Harry was distracted from his thoughts, as Mar spoke up to both him and Adrette.

"These seem to be the best fit. Just need to get you to try on the other two outfits I've crafted and then you are free to go get food and visit with your friend, and I believe I shall take a short break to deal with a tail knotting issue that's been weighing on my mind.

Adrette knew that if Mar was referring to something being 'tail knotting' it meant that he was going to pass out his own little payback against someone, and given how he had taken to everything they'd learned about Harry it was very clear this issue was not in Asgard. "Alright Mar, just be sure not to leave a mess, leave things intact, and most of all, do not become the talk of the realms." She knew he wouldn't kill anyone, believing that leaving the person alive for more suffering later was the better choice, but given where she was certain he was heading, she knew that if he got seen it would mean trouble in many forms, not all of which would be known until possibly years later.

"Come now Adrette. I might not be like you, but I know how to use the shadows when I must," Mar waved off.

Harry, not understanding the hidden meanings of what was said, and so taking it at face value, turned to Mar and said, "I am sorry to hear your tail is getting knotted," Harry said innocently and honestly, not understanding why Adrette was suddenly holding a hand in front of her face, or why she was shaking behind it, "I would offer advice, but, I do not have a tail, and as such, I do not know what would be the best advice for that p-prob-problem?" Harry said, ending questioningly as he tried to remember the word that he thought would best fit what he wanted to say.

Mar was glad he had his back to Harry as that was the most adorable and funniest thing in the realms to him and he didn't know if he should laugh, as Adrette was doing, or melt at how cute and innocent Harry just was. "Not to worry Harry, I know the best way to handle such problems." Mar told him and was proud of how normal his voice sounded.

Adrette was struggling to keep her laughter in. That was the single most funniest thing she'd heard since her father told her about how he had managed to dump an entire tub of rotten berries, rancid stew, and manure onto his rivals head during one of the Harvest Moon festivals. "Don't worry about my brother, Harry," She just got out with only a few chuckles escaping. "We need to finish so we can see your friend." She remained him.

Harry, now fixated on the part of seeing his friend sooner, eagerly nodded and tried to pull on the other clothes for testing them out to see if they fit, only for them to get stuck and bunch up on different parts of his body, making it hard to pull them on, or off, and thus ending up stuck with in the new clothes, of which some fit, while others were too tight to further pull on, but also too far on him to pull off. "Grrr..." Harry growled in frustration, ending up a rolling ball of clothing as he was now thoroughly stuck with the clothes, he had been in such a rush, he hadn't properly tested the new clothes.

Mar shook his head and said, "I'll get my scissors." Before grabbing said Item and carefully cutting Harry out of what he was stuck in, taking great care not to nick him.

Adrette however was nearly on the floor with laughter at this point. She knew she shouldn't laugh and that she should be helping, but how could she not laugh at this?

Harry merely grumbled, as he realised that this meant it would just take more time before he could finally see his friend.

**~w~**

**~Midgard, same time, Gringotts London branch~**

Loki was going to claim some heads before the year was out. The Dursleys, Dumbledore, even Thor, were on the list of people he was going to personally kill in the slowest, most painful, most imaginative, and most humiliating ways he could manage. But for now, he just wanted to get home, check in with Harry, Adrette, and his mother, and then hide in his room for the rest of the day, and hopefully night too. "Ragnok, I think I will take my leave for now. Kindly continue your search for any and all information that will prove useful to the battle against mine and Harry's enemies. Amelia, I trust you will do what you can on your end?"

Amelia, who had, needless to say, been shell shocked by some of the stuff she learned today, managed to catch the last thing he said and nodded absent mindedly. "Uh….yeah, um, sure thing Lord Loki..." she said distractedly.

With that said Loki left the office, made his way back to the entrance of the bank by memory. He said nothing to anyone, gave only the goblins he passed, and that paid him any mind, the normal courtesy greeting, and soon enough was at the doors to the bank. He should've been free then to return home but instead he found a blonde haired male that just oozed stuck up, entitled prick, walking straight towards him with a look in his eyes that screamed he knew who Loki was. 'There's clearly an information leak at Gringotts. Will have to see to it that Ragnok is made aware of it next time I visit,' Loki thought darkly as the man came to a stop before him with a smile that had to be proof that the man thought himself worthy of being Loki's friend, or at least top follower.

The blonde man grinned as he smiled at Loki, before nodding his head politely, "Lord Loki, I have a room booked at the Leaky Cauldron for us, I was hoping that you would accompany me so that we might discuss the current state of the Wizarding World?" he said hopefully, but also arrogantly.

Loki considered telling the man to take a leap into bilgesnipe shit before taking a deep breath. That route was not the kind that would look good if Odin asked Hiemdall about Loki's visit to Midgard. But did he really want to talk with this guy? A guy who could give Fandral a run for his money on 'most arrogant man in the nine', ten, he mentally corrected himself, realms? Loki gave a tired sigh. "I supposed I could spare a moment of my time," He said, tone slightly dismissive and slightly annoyed. He might be going along with the man, but that didn't mean he had to let the guy think Loki was in any way happy about it.

The blonde man nodded his head with an arrogant, if slightly sincere simile, at least for him, "I thank you, Lord Loki," he said, "By the way, my name, is Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, Head of of the Noble family of Malfoy," he bowed, French style, a carry over of family tradition from when they had been French nobles in muggle society.

Loki, just wanting to be done waved his hand as if dismissing a servant. "Whatever Malfoy. I do not wish to spend anymore time then needs be, so take me to this room and say your piece before I change my mind." By rights Loki knew he should just tell the guy to go have a staring contest with a Basilisk, but he was trying to not do anything that could give Odin reason to take Harry away from him.

Lucius's smile thinned a bit, but, remained in place otherwise, "Of course, my lord, right this way!" he replied as he led the way to the Leaky Cauldron, once there, he spoke to Tom the Barkeep, and was informed that his room was ready. From the main lobby of the Leaky Cauldron, to a room as far back from the main entrance way as possible within the building. Once they reached it, Lucius checked it with some spells for listening charms and the like, frowning when he detected a few, though none matched Tom's magical signature, so, dispelling them all with the appropriate counter charm, he opened the door and led the way inside.

Warnings were now sounding in Loki's head after seeing Lucius dispelling listening charms. While he himself didn't like people listening in, the fact that this man had checked before entering the room, on top of his previous comment about wanting to discuss the 'current state of the wizarding world' had Loki wondering if he truly wanted to hear anything this man had to say. But then Loki realized something, if Lucius was the type he didn't want to deal with then he was exactly the type who knew all about the things Loki would want to personally weed out from the magical community. He could take advantage of Lucius's knowledge without the man having any idea that Loki was about to ruin his whole life. Though that's if Loki can put up with this arrogant moron long enough. Taking the best seat in the room when asked to sit down, the seat he was certain Lucius was expecting to have for himself, Loki fixed him with a bored look. "If you are done wasting time, will you kindly get on with what you wanted to say to me? In case you have forgotten I am a very busy god and thus will not take kindly if you waste anymore of my time on pointless things."

Lucius nodded as he took his seat, a little annoyed that Loki had taken his seat, and left him to sit in the chair that belonged to the Leaky Cauldron, rather than the chair he had brought from his personal office at home. Then, looking at Loki from across the table, he began to speak. "Lord Loki, while some have forgotten, others remember when you helped build Hogwarts with the Founders, granting, according to the records, a great portion of your magic at the time, to the construction and….'essence' of the Castle itself," he said, missing the look of surprise that came over Loki's face at the fact that that bit of knowledge was known, even if, granted, it was only a few, the problem was, not knowing who exactly knew that fact.

When he had helped to build the school it had more been a case of wanting to encourage the study of magic on Midgard while Asgard was shunning it, and of course because he felt sorry for those four founders who were struggling so with the task. Yes he had gone a little...'overboard', in a sense and really, now that he thought about it, he could almost claim the castle as his property because his magic was the main source used in the construction. In any case, he would need to find out just how these people found out about his involvement, as he had asked the founders to leave him out of any records. Which one had gone against his request he wondered.

"As it stands, the wizarding world you helped to create, has fallen drastically since its greatest era when you lived amongst us," he said, again, not seeing the frown that now appeared on Loki's face. "We now have half bloods, and mudbloods running around trying to change how the wizarding world of Great Britain operates, with no respect for how things operate here, or for the traditions of the wizarding world for that matter," he added, pausing to take a sip of tea front the cup that was sitting on the table waiting for them.

Loki was honestly impressed. He had somehow stumbled upon a man more stuck in the past then Odin himself. A man who looked down on progress and wanted to keep everything as it was in the old days? Loki had half a mind to remind him that had the wizarding communities of the past not embraced change, they would still to this day be nomads wandering with no homes and living in fear, only able to pass on magic to their children rather than enjoy the comforts of a home and a safe place to send their children to learn their craft.

He then looked at Lord Loki, who now had a neutral look on his face, betraying none of his thoughts or feelings to Lucius. "Then there is the 'Great Albus Dumbledore' and his confusing policies and speeches about progress needing to be made in the wizarding world," he said, putting all his disgust he could into the word 'progress'.

Ah, there was Dumbledore's name again. So even those who Loki wanted to purge from the wizarding world didn't like him. Perhaps Loki could use them to get more information to use against Dumbledore.

"And finally, there are the magical creatures who think themselves our equals," he said, once more missing the look that passed over Loki's face, which, if he had seen, would have been best described as anger, "After all, did our ancestors not beat them into subjugation, why should we now elevate them beyond that?" he asked, looking back up at Loki, who, once more, had a neutral expression masking his feelings and thoughts.

Loki was glad his hands were in his lap, under the table, as it allowed for him to tightly balled them in anger without being noticed. Lucius thought magical creatures were beneath the wizarding community? It was thanks to many of those races that the first witches and wizards survived all those hunts! Many magical families even owed their line's strong magic to deals forged with such creatures. Clearly these people had forgotten the roles that many magical creatures played in their history, and with that comment about subjugation, Loki would have to look into just what had been done to the creature communities and see which, if any, were still known.

Realizing that Lucius was expecting some kind of response, not that Loki wanted to encourage this meeting to go on for too long, he decided to focus on one subject. "Tell me more about Dumbledore."

Lucius, taking another sip from his tea, smiled, now there was a subject he could go on about at length, more so then his hatred of Mudbloods and blood traitors. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," Lucius began, smiling when he saw Loki's eyebrow arch at the extra long name, which caused Lucius to chuckle in amusement, "Yes, I know, long name, then again, he was born back in the eighteen hundreds," he admitted ruefully, "He has also acquired quite a few…'titles' in his long life, examples being 'Leader of the Light', 'Defeater of Grindelwald', and several other, more...mundane...titles, at least for our society," he added. Then, taking another sip, he frowned, before calling out, "Dobby!" he ordered, and suddenly, a magical creature that looked pathetic in terms of physical appearance dressed in a filthy, grimey pillowcase that had clearly seen better days, and that wasn't even counting the scars, and still healing wounds, appeared next to the table, and it took Loki a moment to realise what exactly it was. "Bring my guest a drink and food of his choice, and also bring me a bottle of Ogden's Finest," he said before humming for a moment and then adding, "The bottle from seventeen seventy six should do," he grinned, before waiting for Loki to give his preferred food and drink choice to his house elf.

Loki wanted to strangle Lucius for the clear abuse that his family must be inflecting on that poor house elf. Loki remembered clearly the day the house elves first entered into their magical agreement to work for the first wizarding families. Back then a house elf was treated like family, but clearly someone had perverted that ancient agreement into true slavery. But rather than show his displeasure for the treatment of the house elf in front of Lucius, Loki decided to use Lucius distaste for such creatures against him. "Oh? You clearly think these creatures filth and yet you want me to entrust something like my food and drink to them? Do you think me some mutt that does not care what state their meal is in?" Loki asked, his tone pure distaste. "You bring me here to talk and then think to pawn off providing me with food and drink to a creature? Was your true goal to insult me after all?"

Lucius blanched at his unwitting and inadvertent act of insult to Lord Loki, and then began apologizing profusely, "I apologize Lord Loki," Lucius said, "This House Elf is young, and has served my family since his birth, and while he is, sometimes, willful and even disobedient, he is still learning his place, I meant no offense by having him bring our food for us, I just thought it would be more convenient, and also safer, to have my personal servant bring our food for us," he said, "If I could in some way rectify my blunder, how may I do so?" he asked hoping it wouldn't be too bad a punishment.

Loki took his hands from his lap and folded them on top of the table and smirked. "Well, you can start by getting my food and drink yourself, and I will know if you have handed the task over to someone else." Loki told him before listing off something he knew would take Lucius some time to track down, even in Diagon Alley. "And to drink, I think I shall have the best wine you can think of. Now go, before I grow bored of you, and this place," Loki ordered with a dismissive hand wave. "But leave the servant," Loki made sure to fix Lucius with a look that warned him not to question what Loki wanted with Dobby.

Lucius got up hurriedly, and had been about to order Dobby to follow him, to help him in his search, only to frown and stop before nodding reluctantly and leaving the room. Once Lucius had left the room, he frowned, running a few detection charms, powerful and obscure ones, and frowned again as he noticed that a new one had been placed, though this one was far more subtle, and he could only think of one person who would use something as obscure as this one. Grinning triumphantly, he vindictively dispelled it, using an obscure spell from the Malfoy grimoires from France, that had been designed to deal with eavesdroppers who were using magic, and smiled, imaging how the old goat would react when he felt all the magic he had used casting his listening spell, would return to him in the from of an alarm akin to an air raid siren but with massive gongs, that would no doubt render the old goat deaf for several hours, though hopefully days, if not longer. He then decided to go about getting the wine first, as the food would take longer to acquire, and so going out to the various wine shops of Diagon, which, granted, were not very good in quality, netted him nothing, forcing him to go to Knockturn Alley where more powerful stuff was usually located.

As soon as Lucius had left, Dobby had turned his tennis ball sized eyes to Loki in wonder, never having seen or heard of his master turning subservient to anyone other than Voldemort, and as such, Loki was now up there on the same level as the Great Harry Potter in terms of respect in the little beings eyes.

"Dobby, was it?" Loki asked and when he got a nod from the house elf he summoned a stool. "Sit. While people like that Malfoy fellow may look down on your kind, I know better than to mistreat those charged with taking care of one's home."

Dobby's eyes widened dramatically, and alarmingly large. "S-s-sit down?" Dobby asked disbelievingly, hardly believing that someone so important as Loki would ask HIM, a lowly house elf, to sit down like an equal! As such, Dobby began crying hysterically, though, apparently Loki mistook the reason for why Dobby was crying.

Loki, completely caught off guard by the sudden crying, wondered what he'd done wrong before recalling the way Lucius had spoken of Dobby, as well as Dobby's current state, and figured out this was the first time he'd been shown any level of respect. "It is getting harder and harder not to kill that man out right and all who are like him." Loki growled before taking a calming breath. "There, there, Dobby. I realize I am the first in a long time to show any kindness to you, but please, try to contain yourself a little," Loki said gently.

Dobby shook his head to shake away the tears in his eyes, "Never has Dobby been asked to sit down by a wizard, like an equal!" he said, reverent awe in his voice clearly able to be heard, "Dobby is most grateful to you Mr Loki!" he said, awe once again evident in his tone, "Dobby should warn you, Mr Loki, Master is not the nicest of wizards..." he said, before suddenly growing wide eyed at what he just said before looking down sadly, "That was an awful thing to say..." he said before rushing over to the table next to bed that was against the far wall and grabbing the lamp from it before proceeding to beat himself in the face with it repeatedly.

Loki sat there, in stunned surprise of what he was witnessing before getting up, walking over to Dobby, grabbing the house elf and pulling the lamp from his hands and setting it back in place. "While I vaguely understand the reasoning for that, I must ask that you refrain from doing so again, otherwise I will be placing spells upon the room to prevent such acts." Loki told Dobby before sitting him down on the stool. "Now, I asked that you remain here for a reason and I trust that I can speak with you without anymore outbursts like that? My little request will not keep that arrogant git busy for long." Loki really wanted to get the conversation over with well before Lucius could return, in case he had to invoke some magic to ensure Lucius couldn't learn what they had spoken about from Dobby.

Dobby gulped, realising the seriousness of this moment. Then shook his head sadly, "Dobby will try to keep great Mr Loki's secrets, but if Master questions Dobby directly with order to share what was discussed, poor Dobby will be compelled to speak of it," he said, immensely sad at admitting that he wouldn't be able to fully ensure the secrecy that Mr Loki clearly wanted.

Loki waved his hand in a manner as if dismissing the idea. "Not to worry. If I cannot stop you from speaking, I can always stop him from prying." Loki chuckled before becoming serious. "It is clear from how you are treated what sort of family you are bound to. Tell me though, do they keep many a dark magic or artifact laying around their homes? The sort that serves no other purpose but to harm, enslave, and kill others?" Loki questioned Dobby.

Dobby's eyes widened fearfully before shivering, clearly fighting against the magics that bound him to the Malfoy family line, eventually, he managed to squeak out rather obviously painfully, "Cannot describe, but can confirm that such things may exist..." Dobby said, before shuddering horribly as the magics that protected his master's secrets finally let him go as he stopped himself from outright fully saying that yes, there were such things at Malfoy Manor.

Loki had expected as much and decided he wanted to track such objects, however if he told Dobby outright what he wanted to do then Dobby would have no choice but to refuse to help, but if Loki kept enough information from Dobby then the house elf would be able to help him. "Would you be bound to protect such objects? Has your master ordered to see that no harm befalls these objects and the magic of said objects?" Loki asked.

Dobby frowned, searching memory, before slowly replying. "Yes and no," Dobby said, trying to be as vague as he can, "Dobby has been given orders to not speak of anything within the house, and to maintain the property," Dobby said, daring to even say that much. The part about protecting his masters secrets, however, went unsaid as it was unneeded to be said.

"So if I were to give you a rune, one that would...weaken but not harm certain items your master possesses, would you be able to touch it to such items?" Technically weakening and harming were two very different things and Loki was hoping that by saying it would weaken the items Dobby would be able to do it.

Dobby thought about it for a moment, hard. "Dobby could try, but, if Master detects foreign magics, Dobby would be compelled to explain how such magics slipped past Dobby and wards..." he said, looking down sadly, obviously upset that he felt like he had disappointed Mr Loki.

Loki grinned, "Oh he won't detect a thing. After all, Asgardian runes are much harder to detect if you do not know what you are doing, and your master knows nothing about the magics of Asgard." Loki explained before taking out a runestone from his pocket. While he had told Dobby it would only weaken magics within an item, the truth was that it would actually bind the magic and thus render the item unusable while letting it look like it was still in perfect working order. Not only that, but it would ensure that Loki could track each and every item that the rune is touched to. Passing the runestone to Dobby Loki told him, "Touch this to the any item in your master's home that is the worst of all the dark magics in that house, but be sure to only use it on the ones your master, and all others in that house, will not use openly. The things they would only use if they had no reason to fear getting into trouble are what you must touch this runestone to. Will you do that for me Dobby?"

Dobby took the runestone, and marveled at how different the magic of the Asgardian rune felt to the runes his master's lady sometimes used for minor things around the house. It also radiated with a level of magic that put his masters to shame, and then some. Dobby, tearing his eyes away from the runestone reluctantly gave Loki a salute and said, "It shall be done, oh Great Lord Loki!" he said with a vast amount of excitement and happiness.

"Excellent, just remember not to let anyone else see that runestone or you using it. I will take care of preventing your master from inquiring about this conversation when he returns." Loki said with a pleased smile. "It is good to see that while the wizards and witches of the realm have lost sight of their honor, those like yourself still try to uphold the old pacts and maintain honor." Loki would have to see about educating Harry later on all the magical creatures of Midgard for it was clear that the creatures were the better sort for Harry to connect with then many of these wizards Loki had heard about thus far.

Dobby nodded his head excitedly several times, making it seem like it was about to roll off with how fast he was doing it. Then, Dobby hid the runestone within his grubby, filthy pillowcase that passed for the clothing he was forced to wear, and just in time too, as someone knocked on the door. Dobby was worried since his master never knocked, which meant it had to be somebody else.

Loki frowned at the door for a moment before getting up and walking over to it, a dagger in one hand behind his back. "Yes?" He asked as he opened the door just enough to peak yet remain hidden incase this was yet another person wanting to drag Loki off to 'discuss the current climate of the wizarding world', when in actuality they just want to bitch about how things are not how they wanted it while being under the delusion that Loki feels the same as them.

"Master Loki?" the person on the other side replied, "I wish to speak with you, my name is Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, a holder of an Order of Merlin First Class, a Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Current Headmaster of Hogwarts, and and a former apprentice of the Great Alchemist Nicholas Flamel," Dumbledore said, surprising Loki that anyone could get all that out in one go.

Loki stood there for a moment, looking at a man that somehow managed to appear older than the Allfather himself. Then Loki took a deep breath...and slammed the door in Dumbledore's face. "No one of any importance it seems." He commented, making sure to click the lock in place before going back to his chair.

Dumbledore frowned, that was most decidedly not the reaction he was used to getting, awestruck respect, or hidden loathing, those he was used to, but outright disrespect to his face, that was a first. He then knocked on the door again, and when it was clear that Loki would not answer it again, he spoke through the door instead, "Mister Loki, I must insist that we talk, it is a matter of grave importance!" he tried.

Loki ran every insulting rejection he could think of past himself to see if any of them would do in this moment, however he quickly realized most of them meant showing his hand in a sense and as the investigations into Dumbledore were still fresh, he knew he couldn't do that. However, he certainly didn't want to be stuck alone with that man… Or did he? Thinking about it, Loki could apply the same logic to Dumbledore, as he had Malfoy. As long as Dumbledore had no idea about Loki's connection to Harry, or Loki's desire to see Dumbledore suffer and rot till the end of days, then Loki could see about getting some useful information to use against Dumbledore. Heck, just looking at the man, told Loki that the man was well past the age where he should've retired from most of those positions. But while he did want to get that information, he most certainly didn't want to do it today. Bad enough that Malfoy had taken up his time as it was.

With a tired sigh Loki got up, unlocked the door and opened it just a little. "Today is not the best time for me. Once my meeting here is complete, I must return to Asgard for a time." Thinking quickly about when the best time to return to Midgard would be he gave Dumbledore a date two weeks from then. "That is the earliest I can return to Midgard, and no, it's not negotiable," Loki told him.

Dumbledore remained blank faced externally, but internally, he was frowning deeply. He needed Loki's help to locate the lost Potter boy. After all, who better then the man who helped train the founders, and build Hogwarts. Regardless, Dumbledore nodded, sighing in an act of defeat, "Very well, do you have a particular place you would like to conduct our meeting?" he asked, hoping that he could get the chance to choose the location to one where he had the position of power.

Loki thought about just saying to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron, but stopped as a better idea came to mind. An idea that he was sure Dumbledore would approve of thinking it, no doubt arrogant enough, to believe it was an advantage to himself rather than Loki. "Well, as you are the headmaster of Hogwarts, perhaps your office there would be best. Seeing how someone keeps placing listening charms on the rooms here." Loki suggested as he dispelled the newly placed ones he was certain Dumbledore had placed before knocking.

Dumbledore showed no outward emotion to the news of the listening charms other than apparent shock. Internally, however, he was most furious as no one was supposed to know of the listening charms that he had been applying, he had always taken pride in trying to secure ownership of obscure spell books from ancient times so as to limit the knowledge of some of the more useful magics that had fallen out of favor. That way when he used the 'lost magics' it was that much more impressive for the masses. Once Dumbledore had 'regained his composure', he said, "Of course, Mister Loki," Dumbledore said in a polite tone, but internally wishing he could get past Loki's occlumency shields with his subtle probes that no one had ever been able to detect. Sadly, he could find no openings to slip through, or weak points. Then Dumbledore nodded and bowed, "I shall see you within two weeks then Mister Loki," Dumbledore said, as he took his leave, and apperated away. Once Dumbledore reappeared, he was at the park near Privet Drive, and looking down the street at Number Four Privet Drive. He wondered what had happened to his weapon, he had investigated personally, and then obliviated those he had questioned, of his questioning, and all of the information he got was that Harry had simply disappeared after being chased by Dudley through the community with a few of Dudley's friends. He then rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering what to do, his plans were going awry before they really began to be set in motion, and now he was going to have to start making contingency plans regarding what to do if the weapon did not reappear. Along with if it did reappear. He would also have to have plans that were flexible enough for either situation in case his weapon did appear, but someone else found it and recovered it, before he could. He sighed again, pinched the bridge of his nose, and then apperated once more. This time he reappeared in his office at Hogwarts, looking at the various gadgets that had been tied to Harry, or, more specifically, the wards he had placed around Number Four, and, by extension, his weapon. All of them had apparently stopped working, which did not give him high hopes that his weapon was still functionable, as such, he sat down in his chair, and began to plot.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, however, Lucius had just returned, checked for listening charms, and found more than a few, all bearing the same magical signature, and he vindictively used his earlier spell to repeat what he had done earlier.

Dumbledore jerked and frowned as his magic was returned to him before growling, that was the fifth time that had happened, there was no way that it was just Loki dispelling his charms as he'd gotten a small 'taste' of Loki's magic when he witnessed him dispel the charm, someone else clearly knew the same magic used for those charms, and that troubled him deeply. He vowed to discover who had done it, but then became distracted as an owl arrived bearing various summons from the ICW, probably about various foolish issues that didn't actually need his opinion on them. After all, what was the point of arguing about the thickness of cauldron bottoms, and why there should be a worldwide standard.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Lucius Malfoy reentered the room without knocking and smiled when he saw Lord Loki sitting in the comfortable chair, just as he had been when he had left to retrieve the food and drink, neither of which had been cheap...

Loki gave a bored sigh. "At last you return. I had half a mind to leave since you were taking far too long. Honestly, I am starting to think your servant is more useful than you. At least he seems to react quicker to commands." Loki said in an annoyed tone while giving Dobby a secret smile to show he was simply having some fun at Malfoy's expense. "Honestly, keeping me waiting like this and yet claiming your intent is not to offend me. It would seem you still need to be taught a lesson after all."

Lucius ground his teeth behind a forced smile, "I apologise Lord Loki," he said, bowing, the 'red bean cakes' that Loki had requested had not been cheap, or easy to find. In fact, he had had to go to one of the more...obscure...corners of Diagon Alley, or, at least, obscure to him, to find the finest made ones. He had never been to the so-called 'Muggle Corridors', section of Diagon Alley, due to all the shops set up by Mudbloods and half-bloods there, sadly it seemed if he wanted the best everyone he questioned on where to find them told him to look there. He had, privately, been a bit concerned by some of the things he had seen in the shops there, he had also been severely irked by the smirk on the store clerks face when he had finally found the shop and entered it to request some of their best cakes for Lord Loki. He had ended up having to pay at least double, maybe double and a half, the regular price for the treats, some bogus story about how they were 'hard to make perfect', or some such trivial garbage. He privately thought it was because the owner of the shop had been some mudblood whore he had had fired from the Ministry years ago, because she had offended his honor as a Malfoy when she had made the connection between his family, and the muggle Malfoy branch that still resided in France. A connection that hadn't been acknowledged since the Malfoys had fled France, or, at least the magical Malfoys had, when the French Revolution had begun. The muggle Malfoy family members had all joined the Revolution and helped chase the Magical branch of the family out, alongside a bunch of other pureblood families from France, who had also been chased out by the squibs of their lines. It was still a sore subject amongst purebloods whose roots were tied to that mainland country.

Malfoy had then had to track down the drink that Lord Loki had requested, sadly, he had found each and everyone of the wine suppliers in Diagon Alley to be undeserving of Lord Loki's refined pallet, as such, he had been forced to apparate to his home, and consult with Narcissa, while being very secretive with who the wine was for. Narcissa had, however, ended up reminding him she was a Black first, and a Malfoy second, by whittling away at his reluctance, until he finally told her it was for someone more important than the Minister. That, of course, had surprised her, and her surprise had, for once, been clearly evident on her face. However, her cool and composed mask of nobility had returned soon after and she had immediately been suspicious, however, she had trusted her husband wasn't getting in over his head, and immediately suggested one of the rare treasures of the Malfoy Family, something that was, honestly, older than the Malfoy Family by ten years. It was the bottle of Rüssling wine, circa fourteen fifty, from Germany. It had been preserved by magic in the Malfoy family wine cellar until the French Revolution had driven them out, in the late seventeen hundreds, and they had been forced to move to dreary, cold, England. Since then, the head of the Malfoy family had made sure the bottle was preserved, under magic, as he declared it would be 'needed' in the future, but, that was all he knew of why it had been saved at grave cost to the Family Head who had fled France in the seventeen hundreds.

Needless to say, Lucius had felt that this was that 'need', and had agreed with his wife. He then had one of the less useful and more…'Disgusting' of the Malfoy house elves, bring it up for him, being extremely careful with it, as it really was quite old, even with magic. He had then given Narcissa a kiss, for remembering the old family treasure, and promised her a night of passion when he returned, before apperating away from Malfoy manor and back to Diagon Alley. As he had been walking through the Leaky Cauldron, he had hidden the bottle of wine under his cape, like some prized child that one didn't want to have seen.

Loki eyed the red bean cakes, carefully masking his delight at getting to taste such a treat once again after so long, before accepting a glass of the wine Lucius had brought him. After a careful examination, Loki took a sip of it, his face a stone mask as he rolled the wine around on his tongue, and watched Lucius from the corner of his eye. Loki could only imagine the strain the man was under with how Loki had been towards him, and in all honesty he really couldn't care what the stress must be doing to him. The man had insisted on this meeting, while showing himself to be the type of 'man' Loki has never had time for, and so Lucius would suffer for it. Deciding he'd tasted it enough, Loki swallowed his sip and let out a short sigh. "Weak, watered down, tasteless. A thing better suited for children," He told Lucius in a bored tone.

Lucius, if he had been a slab of ice, would have cracked in half down its entire length, at his internal reaction to hearing that bout such a valuable and rare vintage of wine. After all, it had been passed down the Malfoy Family since their...less than noble..origins that they refused to think about. Not to mention that it had been a gift from a family friend of some sort when the Malfoy's had begun their family line to prosperity. To hear Lord Loki criticize the valued treasure of the Malfoy family, it was an insult of the highest order, at least in Lucius's mind. But, he kept his cool, and put up a faint, but hard and thin smile, "I am sorry to hear that Lord Loki," Lucius said, he was deeply pained that he had to continue to call this 'man' a lord now. But, he couldn't afford to blow his one chance to get in good with such an important and key figure in their society, one who, if you were a pureblood, and thus in the 'know', knew was more important than Merlin himself.

Loki could see the 'hidden' rage burning in Lucius's eyes, even as the man did his utmost best to appear unbothered by the comment. Oh it was simply too much fun, and thus Loki's act broke as he began to laugh. "I'm joking, of course." He told Lucius with amusement in his voice, as he took another sip. "It's not bad in all honesty, and yet, not one I would've picked for myself." He admitted before setting the glass down and turning to the cakes, the real 'prize' that he had been looking forward to, and which the sight of had his mouth watering. "Now these I've not had in quite some time. Let's see if you mortals have managed not to ruin something as wonderful as these..." Loki commented before taking a bite.

Lucius frowned, visibly frowned, while he was still insulted, at least it wasn't because the wine was awful, it just wasn't a flavor that Lord Loki liked, as well as the fact that he had decided to pull what was clearly a 'prank', as that idiot, James Potter, would have called it. However, when it came to pastries, he had no idea what to expect. Especially these…foriegn…desserts, he really was a true blue British wizard who resented his ancestry's 'foregien roots' beyond getting him ahead within Pureblood Society of Great Britain. As such, he was, to be frankly honest, quite unprepared when he suddenly heard what could only be described as a 'moan of pure ecstasy' from the Lord of Mischief.

"Oh yes, those are nice." Loki couldn't help but praise. It had been so very long since he'd last gotten to eat such cakes. "Not as good as the ones I had on my last visit to this realm, but given that the woman who made those has been dead long enough to be forgotten, it's to be expected, sadly. Still these were very pleasing. Whoever made these clearly takes pride in their work." Loki did his best not to just greedily shovel the cakes into his mouth one after the other like some kind of crazed lunatic, trying to savour every bite to the fullest as he couldn't be sure when next he could have them. After a moment he turned to Lucius with a raised brow. "Do you intend to stand there like some inbred ogre? Sit down before you put me off my cakes!" He ordered with a wave to the empty seat. He had made sure to use that particular insult just to both irritate Lucius, if he could figure out what inbred meant, and also to hide it under the guise of an off hand comment about ogres. He would also have to be sure to rip the knowledge of where Lucius had gotten these treats from the blond man's mind, subtly, of course.

Lucius, sighing in relief, that he hadn't caused Lord Loki any pain or something, especially after that…disturbing sound...that Lord Loki had made after eating the desserts he had had to pay dearly for, sat down heavily. He then drew in a breath, and turned to Lord Loki, who was still devouring the cakes. "Lord Loki, may I ask, what plans do you have for the future of Wizarding Britain?" he asked curiously, he had been severely taken off the tracks by Loki's mannerisms, behaviour, and actions, and thus, forgetting their earlier conversation's drop off point. He also didn't realise that Loki had, subtly, read the name of the restaurant that Lucius had gone to in Diagon Alley to get the red bean cakes from so that he could visit them later, from the blond snake's mind, completely bypassing the, admittedly, very weak occlumency shields that Lucius had guarding his mind, which, admittedly, hadn't even stopped, nor detected, the technique that Loki was using.

Loki decided that being honest, or at least, partly so, was the best choice for this question. "At the moment I am merely gathering information. I have been away for far, far too long and so much has changed since those days. If I am to retake my place in this realm, then I need to know what has changed, how it has changed, and be able to see what is failing magical kind." When Loki spoke of 'magical kind' he referred to any and all with magic in them, be they pureblood, halfblood, muggle born, or even a magical sentient. But Lucius didn't need to know the specifics. Loki just had to keep saying just enough to give the impression that he wanted what Lucius wanted, and the fool would keep providing him with much needed information until Loki 'dealt with him'.

Lucius hemmed in thought while grabbing his chin to think. He could try reaching out to a few of the old crowd, however, most of them were, while powerful, utterly incompetent at holding a 'propper and civil conversation', with anyone, let alone someone like Lord Loki. Not to mention they tended to be dictated by their tempers, rather than their brains. Rudophulus had proven that when he had taken his mind controlled wife, his brother, and the Crouch boy to the Longbottoms and tortured them into insanity for answers of what happened to their lord. He sighed, 'Short minded, sadistic, idiotic fools...' he thought to himself in regards to those three idiots and the controlled woman. He then thought about Draco, the boy was far, far too emotional and close to him, perhaps he should have Narcissa take the boy under her wing, like she had suggested all those years ago. Sadly, he had been far too confident and arrogant, in his belief that he was the better parent, to allow her to teach and train Draco...privately he had also worried that she would have trained him to be more like a Black, then a Malfoy, if he was honest with himself. Sighing in defeat, he realised he would have to work with…her, causing him to shiver as he was sure that he was going to end up regretting it in the end. "In that case, Lord Loki," he said, feeling bile rise up in his mouth and trying to hide the fact he could taste the acidicness in his mouth, "Might I suggest talking with Madam Bones?" he said, not seeing a flash of recognition within Loki's eyes at the mention of the Bones family member, mostly from her family name, of course.

Loki pretended to think on the name. "Bones? You will have to give me more details then that. Who is this Madam Bones and why do you bring her up?" Loki truly wondered just what Lucius could possibly be about to suggest to him if it involved Amelia, someone he was certain Lucius would do everything to undermine in order to stay in whatever seat of power he has currently.

Lucius bit his lip for a moment, before replying. "She is the current head of the DMLE, or Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and has been for the last two years, ever since her predecessor, Bartimus Crouch, was shamed by his son being discovered to be a follower of Lord Voldemort," he said, "Said son, Bartimus Crouch Junior, was found guilty of helping to torture the Longbottoms into Insantiy, leaving their son, Neville, essentially orphaned and under the care of his paternal grandmother, Augusta," he said, explaining the reason for why Crouch's son was arrested. He then sighed at what he was about to say next, "Lord Loki, while she may be...biased...towards certain families..." he said, feeling awkward for having to moderate his speech, "She also is a powerful witch from a powerful family, she would make a strong ally for you," he admitted reluctantly.

Loki appeared to give it some thought, mentally laughing at Lucius for suggesting someone he was already working with. He could just imagine the reaction he would get if he told Lucius he had already met the woman in question. But rather than do that, he kept to the script he was certain Lucius was expecting him to follow. "Always wise to keep possible enemies close at hand, and in time all people break and fall in line under my...guidance." Loki then frowned and picked up his wine. "But tell me, who is this 'Lord Voldemort' that you spoke of? Your tone suggests you respect this man." He'd heard a little about Voldemort already, and none of it good, but he wanted to know more than what some book written by people who never encountered the man had to say.

Lucius frowned, wondering how best to describe Lord Voldemort to Lord Loki. Then, he suggested the more…apt...pureblood description. "Lord Voldemort is a visionary, or, was, up until about four years ago, when he went after the Potter family for some reason," Lucius, along with many of the other Death Eaters, had never been made aware of the reason for Voldemort's decision to attack the Potter family. As far as Lucius knew, the only ones who did were Snape, the potion and spell controlled Bellatrix, Lord Voldemort himself, and, surprisingly, that coward, Wormtail. No one else had known, hence Rudolpulous plan to torture the Longbottoms into insantiy for information, though, if Lucius was honest with himself, it was Rudolphulous's last grab at the glory days of being able to do whatever twisted idea had gone through Lestranges twisted little mind. "Anyway, no one is entirely sure what happened, but the story being toted by Albus Dumbledore, is that Lord Voldemort tried to kill the Potter boy with the Killing Curse, and it somehow rebounded due to the actions of the boy, ridiculous notion in my opinion though," Lucius said, snorting in bemusement at the idea of a one year old child defeating a wizard of Voldemort's caliber with, at best, what must have been an act of accidental magic.

Loki fixed Lucius with a look that was a cross between stern and disappointed. "Only a fool dismisses the impossible out right. I have seen babes with the power to make the ground for miles tremble just because they are upset. Have seen toddlers who have yet to begin to speak ensnare the minds of others when scared. And I had watched kingdoms crumble at the will of untrained children who have been wronged. If this 'Lord Voldemort', a 'visionary' as you claim him to be, went to end such a child, then clearly the boy was more a threat then you seem to think possible." Loki then gave a bitter chuckle. "But I guess that is why you are no leader, for you are too small minded to see such things as possible." Clearly Dumbledore had to know more about the reason for Voldemort going after Harry and his parents. Loki would make certain to get that answer out of the old fool, one way...or another. "What do you know about what happened to the child after the fall of Voldemort?" Loki asked.

Lucius snorted in amusement, "The boy vanished after that night, not seen since, or even after his birth, by anyone not connected to the family, so far as I know of...well...other then Dumbledore himself of course," he said derisively, "The old fart has set himself up as the boy's magical guardian, since the boy's chosen godfather is in prison, and his godmother is unknown," he said, not seeing a look of realisation within Loki's eyes, "He has also been using money, far more than he should have access to from his own family and his various positions, to gain favors and promises of favors for obvious future use," he added, disgusted that apparently Dumbledore had been doing the exact same thing he had, well, disgusted might not be the word, Lucius would admit to himself, perhaps more…'bothered' perhaps? "Regardless, Dumbledore prides himself on his image as a 'Leader of the Light', but make no mistake, he is anything but," he pointed out, "With all his positions, he could easily help pass numerous laws and reforms for the...muggleborns," his voice hitched as he was forced to use that disgusting term, something that, again, he failed to notice was registered by Loki, "And yet, he does nothing, he allows us to pass laws more and more often in favor of the Purebloods, he is a joke of a leader, and the Dark are all laughing at him behind his back!" he finished with a tone of powerful amusement.

Loki took all of that information in, making sure to memorize it so that he can point it out to Amelia at their next meeting. It was all very useful and juicy in regards to Dumbledore and thus must be picked at carefully and fully to see what else is there. "So he has been gathering favors has he? Interesting." Loki commented as he finished his cakes and wine. "Alright Malfoy, time to see if you are worth anything at gathering information for me. I want to know everyone Dumbledore has gained favors from, see if you can get a guess as to how much money he has stolen for these favors, compile lists of laws he has let pass that harm these muggleborns," Loki paused in thought about Harry's godfather. "And get me any and all information that you can regarding the Potter boy's godfather. I shall be returning to Midgard within two weeks and expect you to have the requested information." Loki gave Lucius a time, well in advance of his upcoming meeting with Dumbledore and instructions to meet in the very same room they are in now. Before leaving Loki fixed him with a serious look before saying, "Do not disappoint me Malfoy. I am not a very forgiving god to those who fail me." Loki then left, not giving Lucius any time to respond. He had plenty to think about, some things he would write down to hand over to Amelia for her to look at during the next meeting, and he had to start preparing for his meeting with Dumbledore. Oh what a busy two weeks he had coming up.

Lucius frowned, he knew more about Sirius Black's status then he had let on, in fact, it benefited him if the man remained locked up, however, he knew that, between siding with Dumbledore to keep Sirius locked up, and siding with Loki with the promise of bettering the Pureblood cause, he would choose Loki any day, simply because Loki was more entrenched into the Magical World then Dumbledore, while also clearly being much more powerful by a considerable margin that was nothing to sneeze at unless you were an absolute idiot. He sighed, as he realised he would, most likely, lose out on the Black seat at the Wizengamot, something that, quite frankly, he had illegally seized upon through his wife's connection as the last known Black that was not dead, imprisoned, or had been cast out of the family, as such, he knew that he would end up losing some political power, but he hoped that he would gain more in return for his future efforts. He then thought about Dumbledore and those the old fart had been paying under the table for favors. He smirked at the thought of tarnishing Dumbledore's precious image as a 'Lord of the Light', by exposing him for the fraud he really was, this was definitely going to be an enjoyable two weeks of work...

**~w~**

**~Omake: Orphans of Asgard~**

Godiva sighed as she reentered the 'home' that she, and the other orphans of the poor and 'disgraced' of Asgard had built for themselves deep within the slums in a hidden section that no one but the orphans knew about. She had been looking forward to seeing Harry again today, since he had promised they would meet again at some point. To be honest though, a part of her told her that he was just like all the other noble children, friendly to her face, but laughing behind her back. Though, another part of her told her to trust her gut, that Harry was a nice boy, who genuinely meant what he said. As if to argue against that, the darker part of her brain would laugh and tell her that while he might actually be what he seems, the boy's parents would not be as nice, and would in fact try and stop him from meeting with her and her friends.

Godiva then turned to a brown haired boy with eyes that were two different colors, one was red, while the other was greenish blue. His body was wiryish and a little short but, it was clearly built for speed and fast movement. The boy looked at Godiva expectantly, "Any luck finding any food Godi?" he asked, using the name he knew both ticked her off and yet, also showed they care about each other as family.

Godiva growled good naturedly, "Shut it Ari, I know you're hungry, we all are, Jarl is still out hunting with Runa though, so, hopefully they can make it back with maybe a few of them small rabbits, or maybe even a dear," she said, before heading to some of the other orphans and making sure they were doing ok, even if they were, like the rest of them, starving for food, at least water was almost always clean and drinkable in Asgard, even in the slums. She then thought about Princess Adrette. The princess was, to be honest, not what she had expected. She was both outgoing, and compassionate, and hadn't looked down on her for her cut up and worn out clothes, not to mention her clearly defensive nature regarding her, even though she had appeared to be nice to the princess when they had met. She then smiled, the Twins had stopped by the other day, and they had brought what food they had been able to spirit out of the kitchens, naturally, it wasn't a lot, given it was just two of the castle guards, and even then, the two that were considered the least capable, even if she knew differently. Still, what they had brought had been appreciated immensely by all the orphans, of which there were a few dozen or more hiding here.

She then thought of the other 'nobles' that resided in the golden monstrosity that was the Royal palace. She snorted, 'nobles', she thought, "More like lucky arse kissers who got their places through connections or some such nonsense then actual hard work!" she muttered, then cried out with an 'Ow!' as Ari threw a piece of rotting wood at her.

"Oi!" he cried, "Quiet, someone's outside..." he whispered as they heard the distinct sound of Asgard's 'loyal troops' marching about near the slums.

"No doubt looking for me," Godiva realised. Ever since she could remember, the royal guards had, for the most part, been nearby once she had been kicked out of her house after her mother died. Not to mention that they would also punish her whenever she would try and nick any food or things of value so that the other orphans could eat, or so that she could sell the items for some coin to get food or some much needed supplies that were usually over priced in the slums. She sighed, thinking about how lots of the Asgardian people liked to claim how great Asgard was, but never really thinking about the common folk, those who had unfortunate circumstances, or unlucky lives and thus were forced to live on the streets to survive, or, worse, sell themselves through brothels to make enough coin. Well, that or turn to less…'honorable' pursuits to get what they needed to survive.

All the orphans let out a collective breath of relief when they heard the marching move away. Guards, and the other people of Asgard always made them nervous, after all, not all of them had come from 'caring or loving' families after all.

One thing that all the orphans understood, and held close to their hearts was the golden law of wisdom, 'Respect is earned, never given, the same with trust', needless to say, the orphans were of the mindset to look out for themselves first, and anyone not of their group second...if at all.

At that moment, the 'door' of their little hideout moved aside, and Jarl, the biggest member of their group, came through, carrying something big, and, also bloody.

Godiva perked up at the sound of something being dragged by Jarl, and so got up to come over and look. It was a deer, however, it wasn't just any deer though. What it was, caused Godiva to gasp, and turn to Jarl with fury in her eyes, "Are you crazy, Jarl, bringing THAT, here!? Please tell me that you didn't drag the thing the whole way here!" she demanded angrily.

Jarl huffed, and looked at Godiva, "Hey, I carried it the whole way here, I made sure none of the guards saw me, and I only dragged it in cause we all know how low that blasted entranceway is!" Jarl defended himself verbally. Jarl was big, easily a good foot taller than everyone else, even Godiva, Ari, or Runa, despite the four of them being all the same age. He also had muscles on his arms from all the fights he got into with adults over what his father had 'done'. His hair was reddish brown with natural blonde highlights and he had greenish eyes. He then turned to the entrance, where a black haired and blue eyed girl was entering with one hand holding a few royal geese, and the other was pushing dirt over the blood trail that Jarl had left, effectively burning the evidence.

Runa then turned to the two, and saw Godiva giving Jarl the stink eye. She sighed as she said, "Sorry Godi, but, we ended up having to enter Odin's royal hunting lands to find anything, a bunch of prideful warriors were chasing the game away. Thankfully, no one saw us enter the royal hunting lands and as such, we should be in the clear to eat well for at least a few days," she said, shrugging at the end. After making sure the blood trail was covered, she placed the geese down by a makeshift cooking station set up by the central firepit, and began to clean the geese, Jarl, however picked up the noble animal he had killed and brought and placed it on the opposite side of the pit from Runa, where he proceeded to begin to cut it open, clean it, and begin to cut it into easier portions to cook and store away.

Godiva sighed, shaking her head and just hoped that this wouldn't come to bite them in the arse later, after all, everyone in the slums knew, that the Lady Sif, along with some of the royal guards, had been looking for them for a while now, while they did not know the reason for why, they knew it was nothing good.

**~w~**

**~Omake 2: Well, this is some interesting news...~**

**~Location: Salem Witches' Academy, second floor, east dorm~**

Darcy lewis groaned in pain as she was woken up by the light of the sun shining through the big, large window set into the east wall. She hated that the staff had made sure she was given this room for this sole reason. The sun always shone through the window like a canon of light with no impact, well, no physical impact anyway.

Grumbling about having to get up so early, Darcy dragged herself out of the bed and ended up falling flat on the floor, into the Morganna blessed shade. Sighing in relief, Darcy allowed her mind to reboot, so to speak, in a more proper way before slowly, and grudgingly, getting up off the floor and looking around the room.

It was one of the biggest dorm rooms at the Academy, and the only reason she had received it was because the teachers had grown tired of being forced to send someone to wake her up, and then complaining to the headmistress, while the headmistress was tired of having to deal with Darcy always being slow in the mornings. As such, the best solution was to give her the one room no one wanted due to the fact that the sun shone through the one room's window at full blast due to no branches having grown from nearby trees to cover it.

Darcy scanned the room and noticed that from last night's party, there was still two other witches in the room, one was a redhead who she vaguely recalled had been quite the little firecracker the night before, and the other, was an asian girl with red and black hair, whether natural or dyed, it was hard to tell. The asian girl was also in her bed, and had pulled the blankets over her to cover herself from the sun's harsh beams which had hit her full force when Darcy had woken up and moved her head, thus pulling her hair off of the other girls face, which had been covered by said hair. Darcy then began to take stock of the state her room was currently in. There was a bottle of Ogden's finest, circa the nineteen forties, that lay empty next to the passed out Redhead's hand, a few bottles of wine in various levels of emptiness, a few beer cans and bottles, and even a half eaten poptart. She sighed heavily as she began to get to work on cleaning the room. She had been hard at work for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes when she suddenly heard a loud tapping on the window, which cause the other two occupants of the room to groan in discomfort and to also visibly cover their ears, the asian girl using the blanket, and the redhead had grabbed the nearest things she could, which was someone's bra.

Sighing, Darcy went over and opened the window, only to blink as she realised it was one of Gringotts's highly vaunted Osprey, the ones that were said to be bred by the King of the Goblins personally. It had a colouring that was far different then other Osprey species, such as having red and black feathers with a greenish crown.

Darcy gulped now fully awake, as whatever Gringotts had sent her was clearly too important for a regular owl or Eagle Owl. So, taking the letter carefully, she opened it and began to read.

Ahem, Dear Miss Lewis, we are proud to inform you that, as per your request, we have, at last, discovered the identity of your father. What's more, while he is aware of you now, he was not before, and has informed us he will be in contact shortly.

We have also discovered that you have a nephew via your half sister, Lilias Potter nee Fayee, sadly, said relative is deceased, but her adoptive family still resides within Britain, while your father has taken in your nephew. As such, we are pleased to announce that you now have access to your father's trust vault, which was set up for any children he ended up having here on 'Midgard'. Hope you have a wondrous day.

Mrs. Daggertooth, secretary to King Ragnok, king of the Goblins

As Darcy finished reading, she blinked several times in both confusion, and also as well as astonishment. Her father knew the king of the Goblins personally, apparently, and had only recently learned of her existence. That alone spoke of the fact that apparently she was a child of either a night of drunken pashion, or, a one night stand. Either way, she would be getting her father's side of the story as her mother would go on and on about how much her father had ravished her the night they met, causing her to turn to other women, as other men had no comparison to her father. Then there was the fact she apparently had a half-sister who had died at some point leaving behind a child. There was also the listed adoptive family of her half sister, but she didn't have high hopes about them, what with a dreary and boring sounding name like Dursley.

She sighed, she guessed she would just have to wait for her father to come around to introduce himself to the 'surprise' that she was, she guessed. Shrugging her shoulders, she gave the Osprey some bird treats she usually kept around in a jar, though granted, they were owl treats. She then watched as the bird flew off before Darcy went back to cleaning, wondering what her nephew was like and if he would be fun to hang out with. Heck, maybe she could use him to pull pranks on her friends, that would be great fun for both of them, she was sure of that. She also had to check out that trust vault that was mentioned in the letter, though she did wonder just why it had said 'children on Midgard'. "Maybe daddy's out of this world?" She joked to herself.

**~w~**

**~An: Ogremen: Ok, so, I have to say, we definitely burned some oil on this 18k word long chapter, lol, we REALLY hope you enjoyed it, and that it was worth the extremely long and overdue wait XP We also hope you like some of the easter eggs that are hidden or may be cleverly hidden within the chapter, lol Oh, btw our dear readers: THANK YOU FOR STICKING THROUGH THE WAIT FOR US, IT MEANS A LOT TO US! ^W^ Anyway, and now, I have said my piece, and am going to pass the 'mic' to Oracle, ok? lol**

**Oracle: This chapter did take some work, and a few clashes between us authors once we really got to work. I realize that some of you might not be enjoying the bits with Adrette and want to get into the real meat of the story with Harry, but please hang in there. We are setting up for the future after all and we are hoping to avoid digging ourselves into a huge hole and mess like we tend to do. We promise that we will do a time jump eventually, we just want to arrange things better before we get to Harry's first year at Hogwarts. So just sit tight and soon enough we'll get into the flow that readers of the original know. Also, as we ask after every chapter, please let us know your thoughts and feelings regarding this chapter and everything that's happened. Maybe give your thoughts as to where you think certain events are heading, we love to hear predictions from our readers. And yeah, I think that's everything. Thanks again to everyone for sticking with us during the time my pc went down and all your kind words since being informed of what happened. Much love to all of you and we hope you are staying safe out there. Until the next chapter!**


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